Trade

Nepal, India Agree to Raise Electricity Purchase Rate by 1.5%

Revised tariffs for power imported through 132 kV, 33 kV and 11 kV lines approved at the latest Power Exchange Committee meeting in Pokhara

March 14, 2026

A meeting of the Nepal–India Power Exchange Committee (PEC) held in Pokhara on March 12–13 agreed to increase the electricity purchase rate by 1.5 percent.

Under the revised rates, electricity purchased through the 132 kV transmission line for the current fiscal year will cost Rs 8.22 per unit. Power bought through the 33 kV lines will be priced at Rs 8.91 per unit, while electricity purchased through the 11 kV lines will cost Rs 9.55 per unit.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said the two sides also agreed that Nepal will import electricity over the next year from the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

NEA Managing Director Hitendra Dev Shakya, who led the Nepali delegation at the meeting, said Nepal will purchase electricity at the revised rate only when necessary.

“Through this mechanism, Nepal can purchase up to 350 MW of electricity from India’s bordering states,” Shakya said. Although the purchase rate determined by the PEC applies to both countries, Nepal has been the main buyer, while India purchases electricity through the mechanism only occasionally.

According to the NEA, the Indian side had sought a 5.5 percent increase in the rate, citing higher production costs. The Nepali side, however, argued for a reduction, citing studies showing a decline in electricity prices in India’s power market.

The authority expects the agreement to help ensure electricity supply during the upcoming dry season before the onset of the monsoon. Nepal currently imports around 12,000 to 14,000 MWh of energy daily from India, and the volume is likely to increase in the coming months.

Nepal exports surplus electricity to India and Bangladesh during the wet season. It imports power from India during the dry season when river flows decline.

The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by Vijay Kumar Singh, a board member of India’s Central Electricity Authority. The mechanism for electricity trade between Nepal and India through the PEC has been in operation since 1992.