The Dhaka meeting will also discuss trilateral cooperation among Nepal, Bangladesh, and India for electricity export from Nepal to Bangladesh via the Indian transmission line.
It’s been a year since talks for electricity exports from Nepal to Bangladesh gained momentum. Nepal's quest for finding a market for its electricity beyond India was further emboldened after Bangladesh expressed readiness to import 40-50 MW of power from Nepal during the energy secretary-level JSC meeting of the two countries held in Kathmandu in the last week of August last year. At the recently concluded Nepal-India Energy Secretary Talk, India agreed to facilitate power export from Nepal to Bangladesh. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has planned to export electricity from the Likhu-4 Hydropower Project to Bangladesh and sent the proposal to India for approval. The Energy Ministry official said a power trade agreement (PTA) proposal will also be proposed in the upcoming meeting. “We are planning to export 40-50 MW of electricity to Bangladesh in the upcoming season. But since the two countries are yet to sign a PTA, we will propose a PTA in the next meeting.” In August 2018, Nepal and Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement also facilitated the creation of a Joint Working Group (JWG) and a Joint Steering Committee (JSC). Officials said the construction of a dedicated cross-border transmission line between Nepal and Bangladesh will also feature in the meeting. They said while Nepal will use the Indian transmission infrastructure to export power to Bangladesh for now, a dedicated transmission line will be required in the long run. After the last JSC meeting in August 2022, Nepal and Bangladesh also agreed to take initiatives to reach a tripartite agreement between Nepal, Bangladesh, and India to set up a dedicated transmission line between Nepal and Bangladesh using the Indian territory.
