Nepal, India agree to construct 400-KV cross border transmission line

In a major boost for bilateral power trade Nepal and India have signed an investment agreement for the construction of the second ButwalGorakhpur 400 KV oogA joint venture and shareholder agreement has been signed between the Nepal Electricity Authority NEA and the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd in New Delhi on Thursday according to the NEAThe agreement was signed by NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising and PGCIL Executive Director YK DixitAfter completing the project Nepal and India can easily trade around 2000 MW of energy from this dedicated transmission lineThe proposed transmission line is a major component of the 630 million Nepal Compact an agreement between the Nepal government and the US Millennium Challenge Corporation to fund electricity and road projects of strategic importance in NepalAn agreement on implementing the transmission line is also a prerequisite for the multimillion dollar MCCNepal compact viewed by many in Nepal as a counterinitiative under the IndoPacific Strategy of the US against Chinas Belt and Road Initiative to become effectiveNepals Council of Ministers has already approved the NEAs proposal to invest 50 per cent shares in the company to be set up for the construction of the ButwalGorakhpur crossborder transmission lineAlso ReadIndia register 21 win over Nepal in football friendlyThe signing of the agreement has paved a way for both sides to set up the joint venture company with 50 per cent share each of the NEA and the Power Grid for the construction of the section on the Indian sideas well as completing the legal procedure Ghising saidIt will take three and half years to complete the construction of the project that will be 120 km long around 100 km will be on the Indian side and rest on the Nepali sideThe transmission line will become a major energy lifeline between Nepal and India NEA spokesperson Prabal Adhikari saidA meeting of the NepalIndia Energy Joint Steering Committee had decided in October 2019 to build the transmission line but due to the Covid pandemic further negotiations were put on hold The total cost of the project would be Nepali Rs 7 billion Indian Rs 4 billionDuring the meeting in Delhi the Nepali delegation also discussed selling the sale energy from Nepal to IndiaNepal is adding around 456 MW energy soon and during the rainy season it wants to sell the spare energy to India Nepal is also importing over 300 MW of energy from India during the winter season to meet its energy demandsAs per the power utilitys estimate Nepal will have a surplus of around 8000 MW by 2025 as the countrys generation capacity is expected to reach 10924 MW while peak demand is likely to be 2981 MW In line with the multiple requests from Nepali authorities and the surplus power projections India has also agreed to formalise the terms related to the energy banking mechanism which will allow Nepal and India to exchange power on a need basisThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliabilitsy and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever