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KATHMANDU: Nepal signed a deal with India on Thursday (Jan 4) for the Himalayan republic to export 10,000 megawatts of hydroelectricity over the next decade to its energy-hungry neighbour.
More than four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity in 2000, according to the International Energy Agency, but a dam-building spree in the years since has helped connect nearly all of its 30 million people to the grid.
It currently has an installed capacity of over 2,600 megawatts from over 150 projects, with more than 200 projects under construction.
Nepali foreign ministry spokesman Amrit Bahadur Rai confirmed the “long-term power trade” deal to AFP, signed during a visit of Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar to Kathmandu.
Further details of the agreement have not been made public, but Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal president Ganesh Karki said the deal was “historic”.
“Now the government must focus on creating laws and a conducive environment to support production of that scale,” he added.
Experts expect the agreement will drive further investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector.
“Details of the agreement may have to be worked out … but having a number will make investment more bankable,” said Sagar Prasai, co-author of a study on electricity trading in South Asia.
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