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The Nepal Electricity Authority has invited proposals to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity and to sell 500 megawatts. Issuing a notice on Monday, the Authority called for bids to import electricity during the months of January to May in 2027 and 2028, and to export electricity during the months of June to November from 2026 to 2030.

According to the notice, the minimum selling price must be INR 5.45 per unit. Interested bidders are required to submit their proposals by April 9.

A meeting of the Authority’s Board of Directors held on December 30, 2023, under the chairmanship of then Energy Minister Kulman Ghising, decided to invite bids for electricity export for five years and import for two years. The meeting also authorized the Executive Director to evaluate the proposals and sign power purchase and sale agreements with the selected bidders.

In the past, the Authority had invited separate competitive bids for electricity purchase and sale. However, bidders had proposed higher rates when selling electricity to the Authority and significantly lower rates when buying from it, leading to the cancellation of tenders. To prevent a recurrence of such pricing discrepancies, the Authority stated that it has now adopted a single bidding process for both purchase and sale to ensure maximum overall benefit.

After receiving theoretical approval from the Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Authority decided to invite competitive bids for electricity trade with India.

As Nepal has a predominance of run-of-river hydropower projects, electricity generation declines during the dry-season months, leading to supply shortages and the need for imports. During the monsoon months, however, power plants operate at full capacity and electricity production exceeds domestic demand, resulting in surplus energy that may otherwise go to waste.

For the current monsoon season, India’s designated authority has granted approval to 35 hydropower projects to export 1,160 megawatts of electricity to the Indian power exchange market and under medium-term agreements. The electricity will be transmitted through the 400 kV Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur transmission line and various 132 kV cross-border transmission lines.

The Nepal Electricity Authority has been importing electricity during the dry season as required by the system. Accordingly, on February 13, it invited proposals to purchase 100 megawatts of electricity for the months of April and May.

At that time, the Authority had set February 22 as the deadline for submission of proposals. However, on February 21, it amended the notice and extended the deadline by five days. The revised deadline remains February 27.

The Authority has stated that the per-unit price of electricity to be purchased from April 1 to May 31 must not exceed INR 6.90.

kantipur