India likely to provide 500 mw to Nepal

SILIGURI: India is ready to provide an additional 500 mw to power-starved Nepal. The move can help bring life in the Himalayan country, bogged down by mandatory load-shedding, back to normalcy.

Nepal is likely to accept the proposal after studying the detailed terms and conditions. The proposal, which came through PTC India (formerly Power Trading Corporation of India), seems to be the result of PTC CMD TN Thakur s recent visit to Nepal.

According to SP Koirala, secretary to the ministry of water resources, Nepal, the proposal for the additional 500 mw is above the existing 95 mw.

According to the proposal, PTC is ready to continue with this for over 20 years. The infrastructure to carry this heavy load will be in place by mid-2010.

Moreover, PTC is ready to buy back power if Nepal produces saleable power during this period. The tariff offered for the new supply is Rs 3 per unit. The existing supply to Nepal from India enjoys Rs 5.5 per unit tariff which will remain the same. The proposal has already been tabled in the Nepal PMO for approval.
"The new supply can drastically change Nepal s power profile," said

an official of Nepal Electricity Authority(NEA), the state-owned power monopoly. According to NEA records, only 300 MW available supply as against the peak hour demand of 800 MW has pushed the country towards 18-hour long mandatory load shedding.

Despite having over 42,000 MW economically viable hydropower potential, Nepal's present installed capacity is only 617 MW. It makes the country a highly prospective ground for Indian hydropower producing companies, former Union minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh had earlier told ET when discussing the issue.