Nepalese and Indian authorities fixed the new tariff for the electricity that is being imported from India to Nepal. As demands of electricity continue to increase and slow progress in internal projects, Nepal is likely to import over 500 MW electricity from India in coming years.

Public Account Committee’s direction to cancel the tender for 25 MW solar, delaying in 14 MW Kulekhani III and other IPPs capacity of 100 MW are reasons behind the increasing dependency on import from India. Nepal Imported 380 MW of electricity last year.

This decision was taking recently in the meeting of the Nepal-India Electricity Exchange Committee held New Delhi. The meeting has fixed the tariff to be Rs 8.88 in minimum to Rs 10.32 in maximum per unit.

According to NEA Spokesperson Prabal Adhikari, the new tariff has been determined at INRs 5.55 in minimum and INRs 6.45 in maximum per unit.

“The tariff for the electricity to be imported from India through small transmission line remains high compared to the one imported through big, said Spokesperson Adhikari to RSS.

According to new arrangement, the electricity to be imported through transmission line of 11 kilovolt would stand at Rs 10.32, 33 kv at Rs 9.60 and 132 Kv at Rs 8.88.

The new tariff for the electricity to be imported from India would be fixed by another meeting of the Committee to be held within March next year, said Adhikari.

Earlier, India had been increasing the tariff of electricity to be exported to Nepal by 5.5 per cent per unit.

But the recently held meeting has decided to scrap this decision and implement a new system based on consensus, shared Adhikari.

The Committee’s meeting, which could not be called for six years, was held after the new leadership took the responsibility in NEA, added Spokesperson Adhikari.

According to him, the meeting has reached the decision to hold the secretarial level meeting between the Energy Secretaries of both the countries to make decisions for the constructions of the three transmission lines of 132 Kv and two of 22 Kv.

Similarly, the meeting agreed to re-operate the long defunct 33 Kv Dhangadi-Paliya transmission line within two months.

The transmission line had been used to import 10 mega watt of electricity from India.

Meanwhile, the meeting also decided to import additional 100 mega watt electricity from India through inter-country transmission line in view of the preventing power outage in Nepal during the winter, according to Spokesperson Adhikari.

Currently, Nepal has been importing 380 mega watt of electricity from India. Given the high demand of electricity and stagnation in internal generation, Nepal is planning to import over 500 MW of electricity coming year.