Bangladesh, which currently imports 40 MW of electricity from Nepal during the wet season, is set to import an additional 20 MW after completing the required procedures.
The agreement was reached at the 7th meeting of the Nepal–Bangladesh Energy Secretary–Level Joint Steering Committee (JSC), held on Thursday, November 27, in Dhaka.
The meeting was co-chaired by Chiranjeewee Chataut, Secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, and Farzana Mamtaz, Power Secretary at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. They reviewed the recommendations forwarded by the Joint Working Group (JWG), which had met a day earlier under the leadership of Joint Secretary Sandip Kumar Dev of Nepal’s Energy Minister and Additional Secretary K. M. Ali Reza of Bangladesh’s Power Ministry.
The two sides held detailed discussions on power trade, hydropower investment, and the construction and management of cross-border transmission lines.
Another key outcome was an agreement that Bangladesh would form an expert committee to assess investment in Nepal’s Sunkoshi-3 Hydropower Project. The committee will fast-track the evaluation, and the valuation is expected to conclude soon.
Nepal and Bangladesh also agreed to study the export of Nepali electricity to Barapukuria, Panchagarh/Thakurgaon, Bheramara and Cumilla in Bangladesh by using India’s transmission network.
Both sides finalised an agreement in principle to sign an MoU on promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency by completing internal procedures. Under the MoU, Bangladesh will extend technical support to Nepal in areas such as energy testing, EV charging, and rooftop solar.
The two countries will also start capacity-building programmes. The first phase will be held in Kathmandu for Bangladeshi officials, followed by a second phase in Bangladesh for Nepali officials.
Nepal and Bangladesh further agreed to work jointly to secure India’s approval for a trilateral MoU on regional energy cooperation.
Nepal currently exports 40 MW of electricity to Bangladesh during the wet season through India’s transmission grid. The export falls under a five-year agreement that allows Nepal to supply 40 MW daily from mid-June to mid-November.
Nepal first supplied electricity to Bangladesh on November 15, 2024 for a period of 12 hours. The export was enabled by a landmark trilateral agreement signed on October 3, 2024 in Kathmandu, which allows Nepal to sell power to Bangladesh using India as a transit route — the first such arrangement in Nepal’s power trade history.
Nepal has secured approval to export up to 1,125 MW of electricity to India, according to NEA.
Power is being sold to the Indian states of Haryana and Bihar through the Day-Ahead and Real-Time markets of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and under bilateral medium-term power-purchase agreements.
During monsoon, Nepal exports around 1,000 MW of surplus electricity to India.
Nepal was allowed to enter in the day-ahead market of the Indian Energy Exchange on May 1, 2021 for the import while it was given the go ahead to export electricity on November 3, 2021. In October, the same year, Nepal was allowed to sell 39MW of electricity to India.
The long-term energy trade agreement between India and Nepal has envisioned Nepal exporting up to 10,000 megawatts to India in the next 10 years. This is the second year of the agreement.
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