Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomes new achievement in Nepal-India energy cooperation
Kathmandu KATHMANDU: Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry) welcomed the decisions of the 13th meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Committee on Energy Sector (JSC) and said that the expansion of cross-border power transmission capacity will take the energy cooperation between the two countries to a new height.
Issuing a press release on Thursday, the association said that the agreement to export electricity from Nepal to India from 1,100 MW to 1,650 MW and import capacity from 1,000 MW to 1,400 MW through Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur and Dhalkebar-Sitamarhi 400 kV transmission line has paved the way for the export of additional 550 MW. According to the association, the progress made in the construction of cross-border transmission lines such as Inaruwa-Purnia, Dodhodhara-Bareilly, Motihari-Nijgadh, Chameliya-Jauljibi and New Butwal-Gorakhpur is the result of mutual trust, understanding and cooperation between Nepal and India.
Such projects will strengthen long-term energy partnership and contribute to the development of regional electricity market in South Asia.
The statement also welcomes the joint investment and collaboration between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) of India.
Such institutional partnerships will lay the foundation for making Nepal-India energy cooperation more effective in the future.
The association has stressed the need to expand the partnership between the government, public institutions and the private sector along with government-to-government cooperation. The collaboration is expected to bring in momentum in power production, transmission infrastructure development, cross-border power trade, investment and technology transfer.
“Nepal has immense hydropower potential, and as India is a big market for clean and renewable energy, the recent decisions have further strengthened the environment for long-term investment in hydropower generation, transmission infrastructure and energy-based industries,” the association said.
The association has also stressed on the need of accelerating the development of energy-based industries including industrialization, data center, information technology, electric vehicle, railway, green hydrogen among others by utilizing the growing power generation within the country. Stating that the expansion of internal consumption of electricity and cross-border export are complementary to each other, the association said that both should be taken forward with equal priority.
Meanwhile, the association has urged public and private sector companies, institutional investors and energy developers of India to invest more in Nepal’s hydropower, transmission infrastructure and energy-based industries.
“The investment-friendly and stable policy environment will further encourage Indian investment and help significantly increase Nepal’s electricity exports to India in the coming decade,” the association said.
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