S Asia cooperation for electricity trade in focus

KATHMANDU: Nepal's hydroelectricity can be a clean, reliable and affordable source of power for energy-starved South Asia if the nations of the region forge a partnership to harness the abundant hydro resources and develop transmission lines and grid interconnections by framing the necessary legal and regulatory framework, according to a Himalayan News Service report on Saturday
As some countries in South Asia have an experience of bilateral energy trade with India, that experience could be utilised for trilateral and multilateral energy cooperation, according to stakeholders.
Speaking in the various sessions in the first day of the Nepal Power Investment Summit organised by the Energy Development Council (EDC), Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri, shed light on the energy cooperation between Nepal and India, which has ensured reliable supply of electricity and improved the livelihood of people.
Currently, Nepal is importing around 400 megawatts of power from India. Citing the Indian government's target to expand the share of manufacturing to 25 per cent in its gross domestic product by 2025, Ambassador Puri further said that India requires a huge amount of power to achieve that target.
As Nepal has been facing power deficit in dry season and has surplus power during wet season, Nepal has proposed for 'energy banking' with India, which means, the quantum of power that Nepal supplies to the southern neighbour during the wet season can help the country minimise its electricity import bill from India during the dry season.
Ambassador Puri also mentioned that India is the largest source of foreign direct investment in hydropower as two big projects -- Arun III and Upper Karnali -- each with capacity to generate 900 megawatts have been initiated through Indian investment. He also advised investors to pay heed to the global fall in cost of generating solar power and that solar energy is becoming more viable than other sources in recent days.
Also speaking in the summit, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Nepal, Mashfee Binte Shams, emphasised on the need to develop legal and regulatory provisions for sub-regional and regional electricity trade. She said that Bangladeshi investors can invest in Nepal's hydropower sector if there is trilateral consensus between Nepal, India and Bangladesh for electricity trade.
Bangladesh's current electricity generation stands at around 16,000 megawatts and it will require around 34,000 megawatts of power by 2030 to sustain the higher economic growth of above seven per cent. As the nations have envisioned providing access to sustainable, clean and affordable energy access to their citizens by 2030 under the Sustainable Development Goals, Nepal's hydroelectricity could be imperative for the rising demand of clean and reliable energy in the region, according to Shams.
In the programme, Secretary of the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission, Baikuntha Aryal, spoke about the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Power of India on regional electricity trade, which is quite stringent. He laid emphasis on regional energy cooperation for mutual benefit of the region.