Nepal, India, and Bangladesh are preparing to sign a tripartite agreement today (Thursday), allowing Nepal to export 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh. This agreement marks the first time Nepal will sell electricity to a third country other than India.
The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation has announced that the agreement will be signed between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), India's NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) on Thursday afternoon. The signing will take place in the presence of Nepal’s Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka, and Bangladesh’s Interim Minister for Forest, Environment, Climate Change, and Water Resources, Syeda Rizwana.
Chiranjeevi Chatout, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, stated, "The chief executives of NEA, BPDB, and NVVN will sign the agreement in the presence of the ministers."
Under this agreement, Nepal will sell 40 megawatts of electricity daily to Bangladesh through India's transmission line at a rate of 6.40 US cents per unit during the five months of the rainy season (from June 15 to November 15). Nepal will export a total of 144,000 megawatt-hours of electricity during this period, generating revenue of USD 9.216 million. Chatout also confirmed that officials from both Bangladesh and India have arrived in Kathmandu for the agreement.
A series of preparatory meetings between Bangladesh and Nepal were held earlier in the week. On Tuesday, a joint secretary-level (energy) meeting took place, followed by a secretary-level joint directorate committee meeting on Wednesday. A press release issued by the ministry confirmed the decision to proceed with the tripartite agreement.
The agreement was originally scheduled for July 28 but was delayed due to political unrest in Bangladesh. Following the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amidst widespread protests, the country is now led by an interim government under Mohammad Yunus. With the new government in place, the tripartite agreement is set to move forward. The two sides have also agreed to explore the technical and economic feasibility of a proposed international transmission line for electricity trade between Nepal and Bangladesh. Additionally, Bangladesh informed Nepal about a separate agreement between BPDB and GMR India for importing electricity from the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project.
Sunkoshi III Project to Be Developed Under Tripartite Collaboration
Nepal and Bangladesh have also reached an agreement to include India in the development of the 683 MW Sunkoshi III Hydroelectric Project, which is to be jointly built by Nepal and Bangladesh. A statement from the Ministry of Energy on Wednesday highlighted that Nepal and Bangladesh, during their joint directorate committee meeting, agreed to move forward with this tripartite collaboration.
The project’s tripartite framework is aimed at facilitating the export of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh with India’s participation, which would simplify transmission. The meeting also resulted in an agreement to formally request India to ensure the export of electricity from the Sunkoshi III Project to Bangladesh.
Previously, Nepal and Bangladesh had agreed to sign a joint venture agreement for the project and to keep the option open for India to join. The Ministry of Energy confirmed that a joint venture company, involving the NEA and BPDB, will be established to develop the project under this agreement.
