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Energy Minister Shakti Basnet has asked the private sector to get ready for the power trade. Addressing the 21st annual general meeting (AGM) of the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN) on Thursday, Basnet said the government is all set to open power trading for the private sector. According to Basnet, the Electricity Bill 2080 will be registered in the parliament soon and its parliamentary endorsement will pave the way for the private sector to engage in power trading. “The bill is currently reviewed by the ministries concerned,” said Basnet. The government, according to Basnet, is going to implement a campaign called ‘Energy for Development’ to further develop the energy sector. “The campaign is aimed at increasing production, distribution, transmission, trade, and consumption of electricity,” he said. IPPAN President Krishna Prasad Acharya said that the government should open the way as the private sector is ready for power trading. Stating that the country’s electricity generation increased after the entry of the private sector, Acharya said that the private sector should now be allowed to do power trade business in order to increase consumption and export of electricity. Private power producers have been lobbying for their involvement in power trading. This demand stems from the fact that the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) currently holds a monopoly on power purchase agreements (PPAs), leaving no other entity in the country authorized to sign such agreements with power producers. The power producers have been gearing up for power trading licenses by establishing power trade companies. According to the Department of Electricity Development (DoED), Nepal Power Exchange Ltd (NEPEX) and Power Trading and Energy Exchange Ltd (PTEEL) have applied for power trading licenses. Similarly, Nepal Infrastructure Bank has applied to the Ministry of Energy, on behalf of the Power Trading Company (PTC) Ltd, and the Himalayan Trading Company is also preparing to register an application for the license. While the private sector in Nepal is still awaiting the trading license to sell electricity in both domestic and foreign markets, some private entities have already signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Indian companies for the cross-border trading of electricity. The Nepal Power Exchange Limited (NPEL), subsidiary of IPPAN has already signed an agreement with Manikaran Power Limited, India to carry out cross-border electricity trade. As per the MoU, the Indian company will buy 500MW of electricity from the Nepal Power Exchange Limited besides investing in the Nepali company itself. During the Power Summit 2023, Nepali and Indian companies signed initial deals for selling 2,200 MW of electricity to India. Karki elected new IPPAN President The 21st AGM of IPPAN also elected a new executive committee. Ganesh Karki has been elected as the new president of the association unopposed. Similarly, all office bearers including Mohan Kurma Dangi as Senior Vice President were elected unopposed. The meeting elected Ashish Garg, Bharat Kumar Khatri, Uttam Vlon Lama, Ram Prasad Acharya, and Anand Chaudhary as vice presidents of IPPAN. Similarly, Balram Khatiwada was elected as the General Secretary. Prakash Chandra Dulal as the Deputy Secretary General. Likewise, Bharat Prasad Nepal, Bharat Kumar Khadka, Kavita Pokharel, Vikram Bista, and Him Prasad Pathak have been elected as secretaries.

President of the Independent Power Producers' Association-Nepal (IPPAN) Krishna Prasad Acharya today said the government should pave the way for the private sector to trade electric power. The private sector has had a large investment in the energy sector, he argued while speaking at the inaugural session of the 21st annual general meeting of the IPPAN today. He stressed the need for the country to make optimum utilization of energy, the foundation of economic prosperity for a country. "Lately, carbon emission reduction has been a global issue. Nepal is one of the countries with the ability to contribute to carbon reduction. There is much potential for clean energy in Nepal. There is potential for hydropower and solar energy," he said. Saying that increment of internal power consumption has been a challenge, he suggested increasing power consumption in industries, irrigation, electric ovens and electric vehicles. The private sector could play a role in power consumption increment and energy export, he was of the view. Referring to the recent Indian visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, he said, "The visit focused on economic issues. More so, this focused on energy. This is a matter of happiness for power entrepreneurs." The matter of reaching a memorandum of understanding to export 10,000 megawatts of electricity during the visit was an important achievement itself for Nepal, he said.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 5.00 points to close at 2,042.07 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 0.30 points to close at 383. 39 points. A total of 7,896,478-unit shares of 270 companies were traded for Rs 3. 16 billion. Meanwhile, City Hotel Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 97 percent. Similarly, Bhugol Energy Development Company Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 5.86 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 98 trillion.

Nepal resumed exporting power to India regularly starting from June 12 as continuous rainfalls in the last few days increased the water levels in the rivers, paving the way for generating more electricity in the country. With the late arrival of the monsoon, regular export of power to India resumed late compared to last year when Nepal had started exporting power from June 2. The country witnessed a prolonged dry season this year. “We sold 6,000 MW hours of electricity on Monday and 7,000 MW hours of electricity on Tuesday,” said a senior official of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). “Export of 7,000-megawatt hours is also taking place on Wednesday.” The official said that Nepal has received a relatively good price for its electricity as it has been selling power in the nighttime. “We have been receiving prices over INR 6 per unit." After the production of power in the country increased to around 1,800 MW in recent days, NEA could sell the electricity at night time when energy demand is low. On Wednesday, domestic demand for power stood at 1,849MW because of the hot weather when more power is consumed due to the increase in the use of appliances such as air coolers, fans, air conditioners, and refrigerators. On May 26, the NEA exported electricity to India for the first time in over five months as domestic power production surged amid rainfall. According to the power utility body, it had sold 600 MW hours of electricity to India in the evening. But the exports were discontinued since May 27 rainfall didn’t continue. “Now, with the arrival of monsoon, I think we don’t need to discontinue selling power to India,” the NEA official said. India has allowed Nepal to sell up to 452.6 MW from 10 hydropower projects. However, Nepal has been seeking approval to export more electricity to its southern neighbor as the country's power generation capacity has grown substantially. According to NEA, the country’s power generation capacity has already reached around 2,700 MW, while the projected peak domestic demand for power in the current fiscal year is 2,036MW. The country’s power generation capacity is expected to rise to 2,853MW by the end of the current fiscal year. By the end of the next fiscal year, the country’s electricity generation capacity is expected to rise further, to 4,507 MW and to 5,251 MW by the end of the fiscal year 2024/25. NEA has projected Nepal’s domestic demand for power to rise to 2,280 MW in mid-July 2024 and 2,568 MW in mid-July 2025. As production is projected to rise sharply, limited domestic demands will lead to surplus power availability in the country. So, NEA officials say that the country needs urgent approval from the Indian authority to prevent power from being wasted. “We have sought approval for exporting power from over two dozen power projects with a combined capacity of over 800 MW,” the NEA official said. The southern neighbor has long been rejecting giving the approval to export power generated by the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, citing the involvement of a Chinese contractor to build a part of the project. “Besides power from Upper Tamakoshi, we have sent requests for approval for exporting power from other various projects but India is yet to give approval,” the official said. India has been delaying approval for selling more power in India’s day-ahead market. On the other hand, the southern neighbor has been ready to give Nepal access to its power market through a long-term power purchase agreement. The two countries inked a long-term power trade deal during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s recent visit to India. “The countries could sign the final agreement for energy trading in the next two weeks,” said another NEA official. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared during the joint press conference with Nepali Prime Minister Dahal that the southern neighbor would buy up to 10,000MW of Nepal’s power in the next 10 years. “The announcement is obviously very good to boost investment and production of power in Nepal but we have to see how seriously India will be ready to implement its own announcement and end red tape in the approval process,” said an office bearer of Independent Power Producers Association Nepal. Since last year, electricity has emerged as one of the biggest export items of the country. According to the NEA, it exported power worth over Rs 11 billion in the last wet season. Modi’s announcement of buying 10,000 MW in 10 years could encourage more investment and more power generation in Nepal. Officials say there is a real opportunity for Nepal to cash in on the Indian energy market considering that the southern neighbor has been pushing for renewable energy.