Along with the new guidelines on cross-border trading of electricity, the Indian Government added a new provision allowing power trade between any two countries using Indian power lines upon an agreement with the Indian Government’s Central Transmission Utility.

“Where tripartite agreement is signed for transaction across India, the participating entities shall sign a transmission agreement with the Central Transmission Utility of India to obtain transmission corridor access,” say the newly-issued Guidelines on Cross Border Trade Import/Export of Electricity.

Indian Government had failed to recognize the trilateral agreement while issuing guidelines on cross-border electricity trade for the first time in 2017.

Experts feel that the new guidelines replacing the old ones issued in 2017 will provide an opportunity for Bangladesh and Nepal to enjoy power trading through Indian territory.

“This will foster power trade between Nepal and Bangladesh, giving opportunity to the former to export surplus electricity that it is on the track to generate within a few years,” says Semana Dahal, a lawyer and also an advisor to the Government of Nepal on infrastructure projects.

Responding on India’s move, Nepal Energy Ministry Minister said that the new decision would also give due boost to Nepal’s hydropower sector.

“The new guidelines were introduced along with the spirit of the Power Trade Agreement (PTA) signed between Nepal and India in 2014 which requires both countries to allow non-discriminatory access to cross-border electricity market,” says Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Joint Secretary at the Energy Ministry.

The Indian Government also removed older guidelines that allow India Government-owned Nepali-based hydropower projects (or those with majority Indian share) to export power only to India.

And, other companies open to selling power to India were mandated to receive approval of the designated authority on a case-by-case basis.

That move discouraged foreign investors and electricity exporting firms of Nepal keen on building export-oriented hydropower projects targeting the Indian market.

“The approval for export could be refused if the designated authority is not satisfied with equity ownership or Indian government does not concur as per the new guidelines. This leaves some room for discretion,” says Dahal.

Dahal argues that the guidelines lack precision and most of the matters in them will further need clarification in the regulations to be issued by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) or Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) of India.

The post India Relaxes Norms for Power Export from Nepal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

With Israel
In a move enhancing the domestic energy sector, Nepal took another step that would foster its energy cooperation with Israel.

In a recent discussion, Nepal and Israel discussed ways to boost bilateral ties between the two nations, especially in the energy sector.

In a discussion with the Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Benny Omer, Nepal Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barshaman Pun urged the former to push for Israeli investment in Nepal’s energy sector, informed Pun’s Secretariat.

“There’s demand of 10,000MW of electricity for Nepal in 10 years. We have a favorable investment climate in Nepal for investors in the energy sector. Thus, I urge the Israeli investors to consider investment in this sector,” Pun reportedly said in a statement.

In response, the Israeli Ambassador expressed Israeli Government’s willingness to invest in Nepali energy and irrigation sectors.

Reiterating his support in this regard, Omar informed that Israel has already begun quest to find interested stakeholders who could invest in the Nepali energy sector.

With Bangladesh
Meanwhile, Nepal is also gearing up for a similar cooperation with Bangladesh.

According to a recent update, Nepali Ministry for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation is planning to conclude an energy pact with Bangladesh during Bangla’s Power Minister Nasrul Hamid’s upcoming visit to Nepal.

The Bangladeshi minister is scheduled to embark on a three-day state visit to Nepal from August 9, 2018.

As the sources say, both the sides are expected to sign a MoU in this regard to form a high-level bilateral mechanism for electricity trade between the two countries and for inviting Bangladeshi investment in Nepali hydropower projects. 

It has been some time since a high-level discussion was held between the two countries regarding energy trade and investment. If the joint mechanism is formed, it will be a wonderful platform to turn the discussion into reality, reads a statement.

Both the sides have also agreed to establish secretary and joint secretary-level mechanisms in this regard.

With Myanmar
Very recently on July 31, 2018, Nepal signed another deal with Myanmar that would enhance Nepal-Myanmar bilateral ties.

At the Foreign Ministry level, both the sides signed a MoU for the establishment of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism and exemption of visa requirements for the holders of diplomatic and official (special) passports.

Nepal Joint Secretary at the Foreign Ministry Tapas Adhikari and Myanmar Ambassador to Nepal Thiri Pyanchi U Tun Nay signed an agreement in this regard on behalf of both the nations.

During the meeting, Nepali Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and his counterpart U Myint Thu
also reviewed other key matters pertaining to bilateral relations and ways to take them further, reads an official statement.

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The post Nepal Bilateral Ties: Series of New Deals Underway! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Towards this end, the officials are preparing a final a draft of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for energy cooperation and power trade agreement between the two countries.

According to Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, Joint Secretary at the Nepal Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI), Nepal Government has already given its nod for the deals and is awaiting the response from the Government of Bangladesh.

We are currently holding discussions with the Bangladeshi Government to finalize the MoU, says Ghimire.

Ghimire further informed that Nepal has proposed a new energy mechanism for power trade and investment in its finalized draft.

Post signing the agreement, Nepal plans to set up a joint examining and working committees for bilateral energy cooperation and also hold trilateral discussions with Bangladesh and India for a feasible solution to address all the pending issues pertaining to transmission lines.

The latest update comes in the backdrop of earlier talks, where the Bangladeshi Government had promised to build a large hydropower project in Nepal and also received nod from the opposite side for related investment. However, things did not materialize then.

“Power trade between Nepal and Bangladesh is complex because the transmission lines would have to traverse India,” explains Ghimire.

The proposed project framework is based on SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation signed among SAARC member countries in 2014.

The post Nepal, Bangla Gear Up for Energy Cooperation and Power Trade appeared first on Nepali Sansar.