Submit your Article

Nepal which has been selling its electricity to India's day-ahead market since Nov 2021, can now sell electricity to India’s real-time market also. 

Amending the Cross Border Electricity Trade (CBET) rules, the Central Electricity Authority of India has allowed neighboring countries Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh to buy or sell electricity through its real-time market.

Until now, the neighboring countries were allowed to trade only in the day-ahead market in the Indian power exchanges. So far, Nepal has got approval to sell 452.6 MW in India’s day-ahead power market, where the price of power is determined a day ahead of trading.

According to the Indian Energy Exchange Ltd (IEX) data, Nepal and Bhutan have traded 4.41bn units of electricity so far in the Indian power exchange. 

The real time market is a segment in the power exchanges that enables buyers and sellers to meet their energy requirement closer to real time operation. The market features a new auction session every half an hour with power to be delivered after 4-time blocks or an hour after gate closure of the auction. The price and quantum of electricity trading is determined through a double-sided closed auction bidding process.

NEA Spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai said this is a welcome move. “Currently, NEA is selling electricity at a competitive price in the day-head market of India. A bid must be made one day before the sale of electricity,” said Bhattarai, “In the real time market, if there is excess electricity in the system, it can be sold immediately.”

While the real time market will provide greater flexibility for cross-border entities for optimally utilizing their resources by procuring power close to real-time basis, Nepal will not benefit from it immediately unless India gives approval to sell more electricity to Indian energy exchange.

“So far, we have been participating only in the day ahead market for selling 452 MW of power. Now we can sell this 452 MW power of 10 projects in any of the two markets or both markets,” NEA official.

Nepal may benefit from it both in import and export of power when there is sudden demand rise or fall. It can be beneficial even when sudden plant outages take place or suddenly rainfall takes place and we have increased generation. “We can transact power by submitting bids 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to actual physical trading under real time market,” he said. 

The latest move by India to allow neighboring countries to enter into the real time market, has come at a time when Nepal is waiting for India’s approval on a number of energy export issues. The NEA has been seeking the approval from the Indian authorities for selling electricity to the Indian market on a short-term and long-term basis. There has also been delay on the part of India to approve NEA’s proposal to export 1,000 MW of electricity from 18 hydel projects. 

Nepal has been requesting the southern neighbor for a long-term power trade deal arguing that an inter-government agreement would lock in the market and end the unpredictability of the Indian market’s availability for electricity from Nepal in the long run.

On the other hand, the much-hyped 25-year-long intergovernmental framework agreement between Nepal and India is yet to be formalized. While officials of both countries sign preliminary agreements during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s recent India visit, India is delaying the signing of the final agreement which would ensure long-term market access for the Nepal-generated electricity to the Indian market. 

The 25-year agreement is an umbrella agreement that will pave the way for power trading agencies in Nepal and India such as Nepal Electricity Authority and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) to enter into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA).  The NEA and NVVN will sign a separate agreement for commercial deals. 

The long-term power deal has become of paramount importance for Nepal with the country’s electricity generation capacity gradually increasing. If the market for Nepali electricity is not ensured, the country faces the risk of electricity spillage every year, especially during the wet season.  

NEA is targeting to export 1,200 MW this wet season to India. The authority has been selling electricity in the day-ahead market of Indian Energy Exchange Limited through daily bidding. Currently, the southern neighbor has allowed Nepal to sell 452.6 MW of electricity generated by 10 hydropower projects in the Indian power market. But the approvals given to the 10 hydropower projects need to be renewed every year.

NEA has reported that it earned Rs 2.83bn from exports from July to the end of the last fiscal year 2021/22 and an additional Rs 8.32bn in fiscal year 2022/23. The authority has set a target of Rs 16bn within the current fiscal following a resumption of exports in May.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 38. 37 points to close at 2,051.47 points on Sunday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 7. 52 points to close at 392. 02 points.

A total of 8,007,361-unit shares of 265 companies were traded for Rs 2. 68 billion.

Meanwhile, IME Life Insurance Company Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Progressive Finance Limited was the top loser with its price dropping by 9. 59 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 01 trillion.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 112, 500 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 112, 200 per tola on Friday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 950 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,425 per tola today.

With the rising consumption of millet, stakeholders have highlighted the urgent need to boost its production in Nepal.

As part of efforts to raise awareness about millet farming, an event commemorating the 3rd International Millet Day was organized in Mandan Deupur-6 Municipality of Kavre in the joint coordination of the National Farmers Groups Federation Nepal, Anaj Nepal, Mandan Deupur Municipality, Food and Agriculture Organization, Care Nepal, and Milan Women Agriculture Group.

Navaraj Basnet, President of the federation, emphasized that millet is a crucial food crop for marginalized farmers, forming the basis of their livelihood. He urged the government to prioritize millet farming, promote awareness about climate-friendly farming practices, and educate the public about the health benefits and suitability of millet cultivation. Additionally, he stressed the importance of linking millet processing and entrepreneurship to agricultural education.

Similarly, Dr Ram Krishna Shrestha, Chief of Crop Development and Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation Center, shared that the government is actively promoting millet farming in 167 rural municipalities this year, an increase from the 133 municipalities covered last year. “The program includes various components, such as crop production, branding, marketing, and the protection of indigenous crops,” he added. Likewise, Dr Hari Bahadur KC, a joint secretary at the Department of Agriculture, informed that the government is taking measures to protect indigenous crops like millets. “We need a concerted effort from all stakeholders to increase millet production,” he added.

Also speaking on the occasion, Uddhav Adhikari, Chairman of Agriculture Campaign for Food, underscored the importance of prioritizing millet cultivation, stating that farmers across the country are giving up millet farming. “Now that people have realized the significance of this crop and its potential, the government needs to provide support to farmers to increase production,” he added.

Recognizing the global importance of millets, the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. The government has also designated this year as the Year of Millets, with the theme ‘Millet Crops for Food Nutrition, Security, Environment, and Rural Transformation’. Nepal is ranked 13th in the world for millet production, with 320,953 tons produced in 2020, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization. However, due to the surging domestic demand, Nepal has been importing a significant quantity of millet, amounting to Rs 732m in 2022/23, an increase from Rs 722m in 2021/22.