Bangladesh
Bangladesh-Nepal-India Bangladesh, Nepal seek India's assistance
Dhaka, 16 October 2022 : Nepal has informed India about reaching a power trade agreement with Bangladesh.
For this, Kathmandu has requested New Delhi to go ahead with the execution of a tripartite agreement. A senior official of Nepal's Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation reported the information on Sunday (October 16) in the Nepali media The Kathmandu Post.
In early August, Nepal Electric Authority and Bangladesh Power Development Board agreed to request India's NTPC Vidyut Biyar Nigam Limited (NVVN) to implement the tripartite agreement. Through this, Nepal will be able to export 40 to 50 MW of electricity to Bangladesh. According to the statement issued after the meeting of Joint Secretary-level Joint Working Group and Secretary-level Joint Steering Committee held on August 10, both sides agreed that 40 to 50 MW of electricity can be exported from Nepal to Bangladesh through Bangladesh's transmission line system Bheramara High Voltage Direct Current. .
Both sides also agreed to take initiative to reach a tripartite agreement between Nepal, Bangladesh and India to establish a dedicated transmission line between Nepal and Bangladesh using Indian territory.
Nepal's Energy Secretary Sushil Chandra Tiwari said that Nepal informed the Indian side about the decision between Nepal and Bangladesh. He also said that the issue will be discussed in the bilateral meeting between Nepal and India.
The next meeting of the Energy-related Joint Working Group and Joint Steering Committee between Nepal and India is scheduled to be held later this year. Besides, in line with the decision of the meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has written to NVVN regarding the discussion to develop a tripartite power trading system between the three countries.
NEA's Power Trade Department Director Prabal Adhikari said the state-owned power utility made a request to NVVN in late August in line with the Nepal-Bangladesh Power Trade Agreement. For this, the Indian organization has also been requested to take necessary steps.
NVVN is a nodal agency of the Government of India for cross-border electricity trade with neighboring countries. Prabal Adhikari said, We have not received any official response from the Indian company so far.
Basically there is no border between Nepal and Bangladesh. Therefore, India's cooperation in power trade between the two countries is very important.
