Bangladesh has agreed to import an additional 20 megawatts of electricity from Nepal. The decision was made at the seventh meeting of the Joint Steering Committee of Energy Secretaries of Nepal and Bangladesh, held on Thursday.
The two sides agreed to complete the necessary procedures to export the extra electricity on top of the 40 megawatts Nepal is already supplying.
According to Sandeep Kumar Dev, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Bangladesh agreed to increase imports after completing required technical preparations.
The Steering Committee meeting reviewed recommendations from the Joint Task Force meeting held a day earlier. Dev said the steering committee discussed six key issues. Among them, the two countries agreed to finalize internal procedures and sign a Memorandum of Understanding on promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Under this agreement, Bangladesh will provide Nepal with technical assistance in areas such as energy testing, electric vehicle charging stations, and rooftop solar systems. Capacity-building programs will also be advanced.
Nepal began exporting 40 MW of electricity to Bangladesh following an agreement signed on October 3, 2024. The supply is being routed through the Indian grid under a tripartite agreement among the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), and India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN). NEA is selling electricity to Bangladesh at 6.4 cents per unit.
The electricity is transmitted via the Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur international transmission line, through India’s system, and onward to Bangladesh through the Baharampur–Bheramara cross-border line. The power is accounted for at Muzaffarpur before being sent onward.
Earlier, during the Expert Committee meeting on water resources cooperation, Nepal and Bangladesh had agreed to work together in water resources development. The fifth meeting of the committee on May 16, 2023, had also endorsed the 40 MW electricity export agreement.
NEA supplies power to Bangladesh through NVVN using the first international transmission line between Nepal and India. Nepal currently exports electricity to Bangladesh only during the rainy season (June 15 to November 15), under an agreement finalized after extensive discussions.
Another key agenda item was the Sunkoshi III Hydropower Project. In the Secretary-level meeting on May 16, 2023, the NEA and BPDB had agreed to form a joint venture company for the project within six months. The project has been discussed in every Steering Committee meeting since, and this time too, Bangladesh reiterated its commitment.
The statement issued after the meeting noted that Bangladesh will form an expert committee to evaluate the project and advance its investment process to conclude the joint venture agreement at the earliest.
The two countries had also previously agreed to study the technical and economic feasibility of a proposed cross-border transmission line for power trade. They further agreed to take initiatives to attract Bangladeshi private-sector investors to Nepal’s hydropower sector.
Similarly, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India have agreed to take initiatives on their respective sides to form a trilateral mechanism for cooperation in the electricity sector, including power trade and the development of cross-border transmission lines.
Thursday’s meeting noted that Nepal and Bangladesh will jointly work to secure India’s consent for a memorandum of understanding on trilateral energy cooperation. Bangladesh has already announced plans to import 9,000 megawatts of electricity from Nepal by 2040.
Nepal and India have also signed a long-term agreement under which India will import 10,000 megawatts of electricity from Nepal over the next 10 years. A bilateral agreement on energy cooperation between Nepal and India was initially signed in 2075 BS.
In the fifth meeting of the Joint Steering Committee, the two sides had decided to direct a technical team to study possible options for new cross-border transmission lines for electricity trade.
The first meeting of the energy secretary-level mechanism between Nepal and Bangladesh was held in Kathmandu on December 3-5, 2018, where preliminary discussions began on facilitating the export of Nepal’s electricity to Bangladesh.
Earlier, on August 10, 2018, Nepal’s then Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Barshaman Pun, and Bangladesh’s Minister of State for Electricity, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, signed an agreement to initiate bilateral cooperation in the electricity sector.
Since then, meetings of the energy secretary-level mechanism have been held regularly, allowing both countries to exchange experiences and advance cooperation in energy development and trade.
