The Nepal Electricity Authority is all set to sell an additional 140MW of electricity generated by Kaligandaki A Hydropower Project to India through its power exchange market starting Saturday midnight.
NEA has been exporting about 39 MW of electricity daily from the Trishuli and Devighat hydropower plants to the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) Wednesday midnight after the country’s power plants started to generate surplus energy.NEA will export 177.7 MW of electricity to India as soon as Kaligandaki starts. 140 MW of Kaligandaki A, 23.2 MW of Trishuli and 14.5 MW of Devighat will be exported to India.
It is the first time that the country is exporting such a large quantity of power through the power exchange market of India.
“Average clearing price of our electricity has been maintained at INR7.04 per unit,” said Bhattarai. In a statement, NEA said that the highest price for Nepal’s electricity has been maintained at INR 12(NRs 19.2) per unit and the lowest price at INR 1.49 (NRs 2.38) per unit. In IEX, the electricity is traded in 96 blocks each lasting 15 minutes and prices differ on every block.
Nepal is now selling electricity to India through its exchange market for the second year in a row.
According to NEA, the maximum and minimum prices of electricity exported on Thursday are Rs 12 (19.2 ns) and 2.49 (3.98 ns) per unit, respectively. The average price that day is 6.72 rupees (10.76 ner) per unit.
Similarly, on Saturday, the authority sold electricity at a maximum price of Rs 19.2 (Rs 12) and a minimum of Rs 4.08 (Rs 2.55) per unit. The average price is Rs 11.48 (Rs 7.18).
Nepal has been allowed to sell up to 364 MW of electricity at competitive rates in the Indian energy exchange market.
Nepal had to import electricity from India with the onset of the dry season in December when water levels in the rivers where hydropower plants are based reduced, decreasing the output of the hydropower plants.
In recent days, frequent rains and snowmelt in the Himalayas increased the water levels on rivers, allowing the power plants to produce more electricity. The Indian authorities have so far allowed the NEA to sell a total of 364 megawatts in the open markets of India from the electricity generated by Marsyangdi (67MW), Madhya Marsyangdi (68MW), Trishuli (22MW), Devighat (14MW), Kaligandaki A (140MW) and Likhu (51MW).
Bhattarai said that the NEA expects to increase exports gradually in the days to come.
In early May, NEA had invited bids from Indian companies to sell its 200MW surplus energy in the rainy season under a long-term power purchase agreement.
