Nepal may power up northern grid

Border trading of power from West-Seti in western Nepal to be taken up during Koirala's visit.

The Centre is seriously considering the option of importing power from hydro potential-rich neighbour Nepal. The government has already identified the West-Seti project in western Nepal as a possible source to feed the power-hungry northern grid.

PTC India Executive Vice-President Rajiv Bhardwaj said outstanding issues in the safe and sustained cross-border delivery of power from the project were likely to be sorted out during the current visit of Nepal Prime Minister G P Koirala. The West-Seti project falls in the middle of territory controlled by Maoist rebels.

The Centre has identified PTC India as the nodal agency for initiating power trading with Nepal and Bhutan. Bhardwaj made it clear that PTC would not buy power unless it was delivered across the border at Bareilly.

"They have to sort out their political issues. We will pay if and when power is delivered to us across the border at Bareilly," he said.

PTC has already signed a PPA with West-Seti, which will evacuate its entire output to India. At present, India buys 50 Mw power from Nepal and the two sides decide the tariff jointly at periodic intervals.

The 750-Mw West-Seti project in western Nepal has a bonded capacity of one month with a peaking capacity of eight hours a day. Bhardwaj indicated that sourcing power could help tide over the deficit in the northern grid. The project is likely to benefit UP, Bihar and Uttaranchal.

A special transmission line was being planned to evacuate 750 Mw that would be available once the project began operations in 2010, Bhardwaj said. PTC is also in discussions with other developers of private power projects in Nepal.

It is already sourcing power from Bhutan, which is being fed into the eastern grid. PTC has signed long-term agreements with Bhutan's department of energy for purchase of 336 Mw from the Chukha Hydroelectric Project and 60 Mw from the Kurichchu project. It has negotiated an agreement to purchase 860 Mw of power from the Tala project.

A special transmission line is being laid from Tala in Bhutan right up to Delhi. The first phase of this line, which was being built as a joint venture between Tata Power and the Power Grid Corporation, was completed in April this year.