India ready to export 200 MW electricity to Nepal

Kathmandu, Apr 2(PTI) India has proposed to export
electricity to Nepal with the Himalayan nation faced with one
of its most severe power shortages, which forced the Maoists'
government to declare "energy emergency" in the country.

Power Trading Corporation (PTC) of India offered 200
megawatts of electricity to Nepal to help overcome the current
load shedding problems, according to Nepalese officials.

PTC made the proposal on Tuesday to Nepal's Ministry
of Water Resources as per its request, said Anup Kumar
Upadhyay, spokesperson for MoWR.

Nepal is currently facing 16-hour daily load shedding
in its major cities, including Kathmandu, due to increasing
demand for power and lower level of water in its major power
plants. The CPN-Maoists-led government was forced to declare a
"energy emergency" last year due to the unprecedented power
crisis.

The existing 132 KV transmission lines in
Duhabi-Kataiya, Ramnagar-Gandak and Tanakpur, as well as 33 KV
lines, would be utilised for the purpose, Upadhyay said,
adding some of the existing transmission lines have to be
upgraded to import the electricity.

Nepal has imported about 50 megawatts of power in the
past, but the amount has not been enough to make up for the
shortfall.

Efforts to resolve the energy crisis of the Himalayan
nation and investment in hydropower sector are top of the
agenda of Prime Minister Prachanda, who is currently on a
week-long visit to Norway and Finland. PTI SBP
SAK
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