PM India visit: special focus on energy banking

Kathmandu –Preparations have been made to emphatically raise the agenda of energy banking during Prime Minister's Indian visit beginning tomorrow. 

The concept of energy banking has been put in the priority list of the visit to store electric power in rainy season after the completion of mega projects such as Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower. 

The 456-MW Upper Tamakoshi Project being constructed by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)'s subsidiary company Upper Tamakoshi Project is completing by mid-December this year. 

Beside this, there are other mega hydro projects of Nepal which are likely to be completed this year. There is every likelihoods that the power generated from the projects will go waste during rainy season and there will be the situation to import power from India in winter so the energy banking concept has been taken into account. 

Spokesperson of Ministry of Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation Joint Secretary Dinesh Ghimire shared that the issue will be featured in the Nepal's agenda in course of PM's official visit. 

NEA has said that all the operating hydropower projects of Nepal produce full-fledge power in rainy season but it reduces during winter so the concept of energy banking has been mooted for the management of energy. 

Likewise, preparation has been also made to discuss the effects of India's energy strategy in Nepal during the visit. India has come up with the energy master plan to purchase power from Nepalese hydro projects only having ownership of Nepal government and investment of Indian companies 

Nepal will urge Indian side to amend the master plan arguing that it is against the spirit of Nepal India Power Trade Agreement signed in 2014. 

As the master plan did not enable environment for investment in energy sector in Nepal, the agenda will be emphatically raised in course of the visit, Ghimire added. ---