By Xinhua
Kathmandu : India has expressed its inability to provide previously promised 40 MW power to Nepal on a commercial basis, saying it can provide only 15 MW, The Kathmandu Post daily reported Tuesday.
“They have sent a letter to us expressing inability to supply 40 megawatts of additional power to Nepal,” said Uttar Kumar Shrestha, deputy managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
In the letter sent recently to NEA, India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said it is in a position to supply 15 MW of power to Nepal on a commercial basis.
“Fifteen megawatts won’t contribute much to solving the power crisis we are facing,” said Shrestha, “We have asked the Ministry of Water Resources to initiate a government-level dialogue for securing 40 MW of supply.”
During the eighth Indo-Nepal Power Exchange Committee meeting held in Kathmandu in June 2007, CEA had agreed to upgrade the trans-border transmission link to allow Nepal to import 40 MW additional power.
“The Duhabi-Kataiya link is ready to accommodate the additional power. Unfortunately there is very little power to import,” Shrestha said.
Nepal is already importing 40 MW from India based on a power exchange agreement that exists between the two countries. This is exactly half of what Nepal imported from India during the last dry season.
Nepal is currently facing a deficit of 1.6 to 1.7 million units of electricity. To cover this deficit, NEA has enforced power cuts of 36 hours per week per household in many parts of the country, including capital Kathmandu.
According to the NEA forecast, Nepal could face up to 11 hours of power outage daily in March. Nepal faces its worst power shortfall during dry season since it largely depends upon hydropower.