India has extended the hours of electricity supply to Nepal by four hours, helping to ensure a more stable power supply for industrial use. At the request of Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka, the time for importing electricity from the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) has been extended by four hours, starting at 2 am instead of 6 am, and continuing until 5 pm.
According to Hitendra Dev Shakya, Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), this extension applies to the 600 megawatts of electricity imported through the Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur 400 kV cross-border transmission line.
With the extended supply hours, industries in Nepal will now receive uninterrupted electricity until 5 pm daily. Although hydropower generation within Nepal has increased due to rising water levels, imports from India remain crucial to meet peak industrial demand.
Shakya emphasized that ensuring reliable electricity for the industrial sector is NEA’s top priority. He added that Nepal is importing electricity from India at competitive rates until domestic production can fully meet demand.
The total installed capacity of domestic power plants is around 3,300 MW but their production volume shrinks largely during the dry season as most of the power plants are of run-of-river type.
According to the NEA, the actual production of hydropower projects usually drop to on-third of the capacity during the dry season while the peak hour demand hovers around 1,900 MW.
The NEA thanked the Government of India for its support in extending the electricity supply during a time when Nepal’s internal generation capacity is still insufficient. – With inputs from RSS
