Kathmandu — Hitendra Dev Shakya, the Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), has informed that Nepal is selling electricity to India at INR 4 per unit during nighttime hours.
He shared this information while speaking with journalists on Sunday evening after inspecting issues related to electricity supply under the No Light Branch in Kuleshwar, where various areas had been experiencing problems. He also addressed consumer complaints and potential technical difficulties during the inspection.
He stated that in recent times, electricity has become cheaper in India during the daytime. According to him, India currently receives only about 50 paisa per megawatt-hour for electricity consumption.
He stated that in recent times, electricity has become cheaper in India during the daytime. According to him, India currently receives only about 50 paisa per megawatt-hour for electricity consumption.
Managing Director Shakya said, “For the past few days, electricity has been cheaper in India during the daytime. This has also been reported in various Indian media outlets. We used to hear that in Europe, there were times of negative pricing — meaning consumers would actually be paid to use electricity. A similar situation is now starting to emerge in India. When the price drops to about 50 paisa per megawatt-hour, that means the cost per unit falls to less than one paisa during certain hours in the daytime.”
“At that time,” he continued, “we imported as much electricity as possible from India and stored water in reservoirs like Kulekhani, Marsyangdi, Kaligandaki, and Tamakoshi. We didn’t use the electricity then. Now in the evening, during peak load hours, we are running those hydropower plants.”
Shakya mentioned that Nepal also imports that same electricity during the daytime. He claimed that after 9 PM, Nepal sells electricity generated from stored water. He stated that on Saturday alone, Nepal purchased 2,500 megawatt-hours of electricity and sold 1,300 megawatt-hours.
He said, “Even during peak load hours, we currently don’t need to import electricity from India. Our rivers have ample water flow. After 9 PM, we’re selling electricity generated from stored water. After 9 PM, electricity can be sold at INR 4 per unit. This means we’re able to buy at a cheap rate — around one to one-and-a-half paisa per unit — and sell at INR 4. At night, the price usually hovers around NPR 2 to NPR 2.5 per unit. On Saturday alone, we purchased 2,500 megawatt-hours and sold 1,300 megawatt-hours.”
“Although the volume of units sold is lower than the units purchased, we are profiting in terms of revenue. This situation is expected to continue for a few more days. As long as the water flow in our rivers remains high during the day and we’re unable to store it, we won’t need to buy electricity from India. But at night, we can sell. Starting from June 15, we begin ’round-the-clock’ (RTC) supply under a five-year multi-year agreement, where we sell at a fixed rate, not based on the market price.”
Managing Director Shakya claimed that, except for last Wednesday and Thursday, there have been no issues with electricity supply on other days. He stated that misinformation was being spread by hiding the truth and presenting a distorted version of reality.
Source: RatoPati
