Nepal is set to import additional 80MW electricity from India through Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line from February 16. With the work to install transmission towers on the Nepali side completed, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is gearing up to make the transmission line functional at the earliest. “We will start charging the transmission line on the Nepal side by February 7 or 8,” Energy Secretary Suman Prasad Sharma said. “The formal exchange of electricity will begin from mid-February.” A meeting of the Joint Steering Committee of energy secretaries of Nepal and India in Kathmandu on Friday has agreed that Nepal will import additional 80MW energy within next three weeks. Indian Power Secretary Pradeep Kumar Pujari informed that the Indian side will start charging the transmission line on their side from Saturday. According to Pujari, the Nepali side should work on upgrading the transmission line to 400kV capacity to get optimum benefit from the interconnectivity. The Joint Steering Committee meeting also discussed the possibility of importing additional 200MW energy through the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line within the next winter season and agreed to make the project functional by December 2017.
