The Nepal Weekly 
April 29, 2023
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ said that the Government of Nepal recognizes the energy sector as the one that can lead the country to developing a strong base for prosperity. Green energy will be both a means and a product that will enable Nepal to make the transition to a strong economy, he stressed.
Addressing the Power Summit 2023 that kicked off last Tuesday in Kathmandu, PM Dahal said the government of Nepal takes great pride in announcing to the world that Nepal today generates more power than it consumes in the wet season.
The Power Summit 2023 with the theme ‘Broadening Green Energy Markets’ was organized jointly by the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal (IPPAN) and the Government of Nepal on April 18th and 19th.
Nepalis still do not have access to green energy, he pointed out that Nepal must continue to expand the grid as well as adopt off grid technologies to make electricity available to all people of the country, he said
“We also know that many industrial demands are ready to be created if we can expand transmission and distribution lines and ensure a stable power supply,” PM Dahal said, adding, “We all should understand that the use of electricity in our own domestic market is our key priority as we aspire to be economically prosperous.”
Until we build enough infrastructures to utilize the generated electricity internally, the PM said, we need to export it to protect the huge investments already incurred in the generation side.
He further said that it is of equal importance, for economic reasons, to engage ourselves in the cross-border power trade in view of utilizing cheap and diverse resources existing in the region and sub-region.
He said while over 65 pe rcent of Nepalis are engaged in agriculture, it contributes less than a quarter of our GDP and has a huge potential for growth. This growth potential should be powered with green energy.
The Government of Nepal will work to ensure that industries across Nepal have access to green energy priced at competitive rates, the Prime Minister said, “If we can get all Nepalis to cook with green energy, it will contribute to protecting our forests, and also greatly reduce our dependence on imported LPG, PM Dahal stated.
He added that the import of vehicles may continue but we can make a transition to electric modes of transport so that our import of fossil fuels declines and this contributes to mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change.
PM Dahal said, “Given that we are endowed with enormous hydro and solar power potential, we can not only fulfil our international commitment of transition to clean energy but can also support our neighbouring countries to meet their emission reduction targets by exporting our electricity.”
Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet said the government and the private sector were focused on qualitative development and transformation of the energy sector through collaboration.
He mentioned that the government is moving ahead with a long-term vision on exploring the international market for power and increased domestic consumption.
The Power Summit 2023 was participated by over 300 representatives of more than 30 countries including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
High officials of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, companies related to power trade, banks and financial institutions, power extension and distribution companies and consultants are participating in the Summit. This Summit brings an opportunity to meet and get exposure to 800+ participants from all over the world viz. governments, energy producers, traders, investors, policymakers, regulators, academics, and business people- all concerning the energy sectors.
Speaking on the same occasion, Dinesh Ghimire, Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said that real-time trading and long-term markets are other options that Nepal wants to guarantee from India to sell its electricity. “It is necessary to have every type of market available for selling Nepal’s power in India,” he said adding India has also assured us that it will provide access to all types of markets.
He also said that the government was also seeking to sign a long-term inter-government agreement of trading of power between the two neighbours. Nepal is seeking a 25-year-long inter-governmental agreement with India on selling Nepal’s surplus power.
During the 10th Joint Steering Committee meeting held in India in February, Indian officials had notified Nepal that it was working to allow Nepal to participate in real-time trading of power in the Indian market. Access to the real-time market would allow Nepal to sell power anytime and prevent power from being spilled.
Kul Man Ghising, Managing Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) also expressed hope that the real-time trading market and long-term market would be opened very soon by the Indian regulator for Nepal’s power. “There is a very optimistic scenario for the export market,” he said. “If we cannot be confident about the domestic and export market, we cannot attract investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector.”
Nepal sold electricity worth over Rs 11 billion in the last wet season (June to November) in the Indian day-ahead market.
During the 2 event, Indian companies agreed to purchase 2,200MW of electricity from Nepal’s hydropower projects.
India’s Manikaran Power Limited had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with two Nepali companies – Nepal’s Bizbell Energy Pvt. Ltd and Kasuwa Khola Hydropower Limited – to purchase around 200MW of power directly from the hydropower projects being developed by these companies. Though Nepal’s current electricity law does not allow licences to the power trading company, it has opened the door for the hydropower projects to sell the power directly in the domestic market and abroad.
