With the decrease in domestic electricity consumption in the country during Dashain, about 500 megawatts of electricity produced by hydropower projects in Nepal is being wasted every single day.
Due to the closure of industries and factories that consume more electricity during Dashain, the demand for electricity has gone down in the country. Further, cold has not started in the Kathmandu Valley and the heat has subsided in the Terai.
However, since the rainy season is over and clean water is flowing in the rivers and streams, electricity is being produced without interruption from the hydropower projects owned by the Nepal Electricity Authority, its subsidiaries, and the private sector.
About 2,200 megawatts of electricity are currently being produced daily by the authority, its subsidiaries, and private-sector hydropower projects.
About 1,000 MW is being consumed within the country, while 650 to 700 MW of electricity is being exported to India.
Kulman Ghising, executive director of the authority, said that since the electricity produced cannot be consumed within the country and no approval is received from India for further export, around 500 megawatts of electricity is going down the drain every day.
"We have sent about 300 megawatts of electricity saved here to the Central Electricity Authority of India for export approval, but as we have not yet received approval. About 500 megawatts of clean energy produced daily since the day before Phulpati is going down the drain," said NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising, "We are losing millions of rupees daily due to this."
"I am confident that approval will soon be given for the export of more electricity since it is in the process. If we do not get approval, we will have to waste more electricity," Ghising added.
The Authority is exporting to India the electricity saved during the rainy season after consumption within the country. The authority has been selling around 110 MW of electricity to Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) through competition in IX's day-ahead market and under a mid-term power agreement reached recently. NVVN sells electricity in the Indian State of Haryana.
The Central Electricity Authority of India has also allowed the sale of about 44 MW of power in the real-time market out of the 522 MW approved for export to the competitive market in the first phase. The Nepal Electricity Authority has received approval for the export of 522 megawatts to the competitive market and 632 megawatts to NVVN with 110 megawatts. Out of this, 562 MW of electricity is being exported from Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV interstate transmission line and 70 MW from Mahendranagar-Tanakpur 132 KV transmission line.
The Authority has exported electricity worth 11 billion 802 million 800 thousand rupees to India from last June to October.
The Authority had started selling the electricity surplus in the country since June 11 this year in the Indian market.
The Authority has exported electricity worth 9 billion 645 million 400 thousand rupees in the last three months from June to October of the current fiscal year 2023/24.
The Authority sold electricity worth Rs 4 billion 23 million 500 thousand rupees between mid-September to mid-October.
The average rate of electricity exported to India in three months is 10.27 rupees per unit.
The average rate of electricity exported to India in June and August was Rs 9.67 per unit.
Power supply goes uninterrupted during Dashain
The Nepal Electricity Authority has supplied electricity without any interruption during this year's Dashain.
Kulman Ghising, the Managing Director of the Authority, said that, this year too, there was uninterrupted power supply during Dashain as in the previous year, except for some places in the hilly areas.
"The power supply system ran smoothly without interruptions during this Dashain", Ghising said.
The authority had kept the heads of distribution centers, powerhouses, and technical staffers on standby to prevent power outages during Dashain.
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