NEW DELHI: India approved the export of electricity to Nepal on Monday (Sept 14) to help its neighbour overcome shortages caused by extensive damage to its hydropower projects from catastrophic floods last month.
The August 26 flood, triggered by a glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people in Nepal and Tibet.
Hundreds of workers at a series of hydropower projects are among more than 5,300 people still missing in Nepal.
India will transmit up to 600 megawatts of electricity for 18 hours daily until the end of the year, the ministry of power said in a statement.
"The approval will help Nepal meet its power requirements during this difficult period and further strengthen the close and longstanding energy cooperation between India and Nepal," it said.
The amount of electricity to be supplied from January 2027 onwards will be reviewed in December.
Four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity at the turn of the century, according to the International Energy Agency, but a dam-building spree has since helped connect nearly all its 30 million people to the grid.
Hydropower has also emerged as a key driver of its exports to India and Bangladesh.
However, authorities suspended electricity exports after the floods hit at least 12 hydropower projects. - AFP
