India Business Journal - India emerges as key regional powerhouse as Nepal supplies electricity to Bangladesh

INFRASTRUCTURE

India emerges as key regional powerhouse as Nepal supplies electricity to Bangladesh

IBJ Bureau
Jun 17, 2025

Nepal has begun exporting 40 mw of electricity to Bangladesh through India’s power grid. This is Nepal’s first move into the international energy market by positioning India as a key facilitator of regional electricity trading.

Nepal is also exporting 80 mw to Bihar, Nepal’s Energy Minister Dipak Khadka has said, adding that power exports had unlocked a 5,000-mw export market for the Himalayan nation.

The power transaction follows a tripartite agreement signed last October between Nepal Electricity Authority, Bangladesh Power Development Board and India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam.

India exports electricity to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, while importing power from Nepal and Bhutan and is discussing plans to integrate its grid with Sri Lanka.

The development comes as Nepal rapidly expands its hydropower capacity, with India’s hydropower producer SJVN currently developing the 900-mw Arun-3 project in Nepal’s Sankhuwasabha district.

In April, Power Grid Corporation and Nepal Electricity Authority had agreed to implement high-capacity, cross-border transmission infrastructure to facilitate increased power trading.

Nepal, which has installed capacity of more than 3,000 mw, with 95 per cent in the hydropower segment, has also been seeking Indian investment to boost its hydroelectric output and export surplus power to New Delhi.