Kathmandu: The 17th meeting of the Nepal–India Power Exchange Committee (PEC) has set the electricity rates for 2026.
The meeting approved only a 1.5 percent increase per unit compared to the rates of 2025. The rate for electricity purchased through 132 kV transmission lines has been set at 8.22 INR per unit (₨13.15), for 33 kV lines at 8.91 INR per unit (₨11.58), and for 11 kV lines at 9.55 INR per unit (₨15.28).
In the meeting, the Nepalese side was led by Hitendra Dev Shakya, Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, and the Indian side was led by Bijay Kumar Singh, Board Member of the Central Electricity Authority. For 2025, the electricity rate for exchange through 132 kV transmission lines was set at 8.1 INR per unit (₨12.96), for 33 kV lines it was 8.78 INR per unit (₨14.04), and for electricity imported or exported through 11 kV lines it was 9.41 INR per unit (₨15.05). A 1.5 percent increase had also been applied for 2025.
Last year, regarding a similar PEC agreement, the Ministry of Energy had even sought clarification from the then Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Kulman Ghising. The public question raised at the time was: why did he carry out a “task that he had no authority to do”? However, looking at the officially published details from last year, it appears that the Nepal–India Joint Secretary-level Operations Committee (JSC), in which the then Energy Secretary Suresh Acharya himself participated, had “noted” the PEC meeting scheduled for February 12, 2025. In other words, the fact that the meeting would take place was already approved within the official structure, yet later, questions were raised against the Authority leadership that had participated in the same process.
At that time, the then Minister of Energy, Deepak Khadka, had even sought clarification from the then Managing Director Kulman Ghising over agreeing to the higher rates. The meeting held in Pokhara on March 12–13, 2026 was attended by Sanjeev Rai, Senior Divisional Engineer from the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Suman Shekhar, First Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.
At that time, Kulman Ghising stated in his response that the Nepal–India electricity exchange through PEC had been a continuous institutional practice since 1992. He also pointed out that in 2020, the Cabinet had given prior approval to the Nepal Electricity Authority for electricity purchase and sale with India and Bangladesh, and that in 2021, the Authority had been designated as the “Nodal Authority”. In the same response, he emphasized that the understanding reached on February 12, 2025, would only be implemented after board approval and regulatory clearance.
What is even more interesting is that regarding last year’s controversial agreement, Kulman Ghising had presented an important argument in its favor: while electricity revenue had increased by 4.5 percent in the previous fiscal year, the recent agreement had limited the increase to just 1.5 percent. In other words, he presented this as an achievement, maintaining a comparatively favorable rate for the institution.
The 17th PEC meeting held recently in Pokhara also ultimately approved the same 1.5 percent increase. According to Rajan Dhakal, although the Indian side had proposed a 5.5 percent increase, the Nepalese side reduced it and reached agreement at 1.5 percent.
Under the new rates, electricity through 132 kV lines has been fixed at ₨8.22 per unit, ₨8.91 per unit for 33 kV lines, and ₨9.55 per unit for 11 kV lines. However, this time, there was no dissatisfaction from the Ministry of Energy, no question of authority, and no repeat of the clarification drama. This raises the question: was the controversy about the issue itself, or about the individual?
With the rates now set, it is expected that Nepal’s electricity supply management will be further strengthened during the dry months of mid-March to mid-May. Currently, the Nepal Electricity Authority imports around 12,000 to 14,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per day, and this amount is expected to increase as energy demand rises during the dry season.
The process of purchasing electricity from India through the PEC has been continuously operational since 1992. According to the Authority, this mechanism, which has been in place for more than three decades, has become an important foundation for Nepal–India energy cooperation.
The Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, Shakya, stated that the meeting set the electricity purchase rates for the coming year. “After detailed discussions, the rates from last year have been increased by only 1.5 percent, which is the same rate of increase as the previous year,” he said. He also noted that due to global fuel supply disruptions caused by the ongoing war in West Asia, there was additional pressure to reach this agreement to ensure electricity imports during the dry season.
Kantipur
