Nepal seeks to advance electricity import arrangement due to floods | India News
NEW DELHI: Nepal has sought advance approvals to import electricity from India, effective Sept 2026, in view of generation deficits caused by flash floods, govt said.Power ministry officials said India will provide any additional electricity that Nepal may need and relevant authorities are processing these requests.India imports hydropower from Nepal during summer and exports electricity in the dry winter, when rivers freeze and generation is impacted. Both countries currently have a 1,000 MW electricity import-export capacity through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV cross-border transmission line and have recently agreed to increase it to over 1,400 MW.Following flash floods in the Trishuli/Lhende Khola river basin on Aug 26 that caused severe local infrastructure damage and disrupted specific generating stations, officials said Kathmandu has requested India to advance the export mechanism, which otherwise begins during peak winter.The impact of the damage on India’s national power grid, however, is minimal and fully manageable, an official said.“Major cross-border transmission corridors, such as the high-capacity 400 kV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur link (with a transfer capacity of 1,000 MW), remain operational,” said a power ministry official. According to assessments, domestic generation capacity in Nepal has seen a reduction of approximately 550 MW due to damaged facilities. Cross-border power flow to India is currently reduced by approximately 400 MW, from previous peak export levels of around 950-1,000 MW.“We do not foresee any requirement for exceptional emergency procurement or alternative arrangements to balance domestic demand. India’s vast national grid capacity and robust generation reserve margins are capable of absorbing a temporary shortfall of 400 MW seamlessly without disrupting grid stability or retail supply,” the official said.
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Some of the key under-construction projects, including the 900 MW Arun-3 and 669 MW Lower Arun projects in the Arun River basin, which are being executed by central public sector companies, are located in an unaffected catchment and continue on schedule without disruption, said an official.
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