In a significant development, India has granted Nepal the approval to participate in its real-time energy market, allowing the sale of electricity generated by two hydropower projects. This marks the first instance of India providing project-specific approval, facilitating Nepal’s entry into India’s Real-Time Market (RTM).
The Central Electricity Authority of India has given the green light for the trading of 44 MW of electricity generated from two hydropower ventures: the 19.4 MW Lower Modi project and the 24.25 MW Kabeli B-1 project in the real-time market. Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai, the spokesperson for the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), confirmed this development.
Bhattarai explained that previously, Nepal had to wait a full day for the import and export of electricity. However, with this recent approval, Nepal can now engage in electricity trade by submitting bids just one hour and fifteen minutes before the sale. This newfound flexibility enables swift responses to changes in electricity generation or unforeseen shutdowns.
He expressed optimism that other projects, already approved for the day-ahead market, would also gain the ability to sell power in the real-time market without delay. Additionally, Bhattarai hopes for prompt approvals from Indian authorities for selling power from new projects in both the day-ahead and real-time markets.
It’s important to note that projects approved for selling power in the day-ahead market must renew their approvals annually.
Currently, Nepal exports approximately 13,000 MW of electricity to India daily. India had previously allowed Nepal to sell its power in its day-ahead market starting in November 2021.
