India approves 18-hour power supply to Nepal amid hydropower losses

The Centre on Monday approved Nepal government’s request for early import electricity from India to mitigate a generation shortfall due to the recent disaster. In a statement, the Ministry of Power said it has approved power exports to the Nepal Electricity Authority for 18 hours a day, from midnight to 6 pm, largely covering solar-generation hours, from September 13 to December 31.

“Approval has been given for up to 600 MW of export through Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar 400 kV D/c line and up to 54 MW through Tanakpur-Mahendranagar 132 kV S/c line. The quantum of power to be exported from January 2027, will be reviewed in December, 2026,” the power ministry said.

The decision to allow electricity exports during solar-generation hours is understood to be driven by India’s relatively comfortable power availability during the day, mainly due to the significant expansion of solar capacity in recent years.

Notably, grid operators have at times had to curtail solar generation during the day as the power system struggles to absorb the surplus electricity. Data from Grid India show that on September 9, when peak power demand touched 267 GW, the night-time shortfall was around 7.7 GW.

On September 10, when peak power demand reached 269 GW, the night-time shortfall was 6.1 GW. To bridge the evening and night-time shortfall, grid operators have been relying on relatively expensive gas-based power, while coal-fired power plants are also operating at near-maximum levels.

Electricity generation from gas-based power plants rose 80.32% during September 1-9 from the same period last year, an analysis of data from the National Power Portal shows. Similarly, coal-based generation during the September 1-9 period increased by 25.30%, from 26,135.72 million units (MU) in 2025 to 32,748.95 MU in 2026.

Since April, coal-based power generation increased by 10.64%, from 553,730.78 MU in 2025 to 612,663.37 MU in 2026, reflecting heavy reliance on coal to meet the demand during non-solar hours. The approval for export comes after the Nepal government in August sought advance approvals to import electricity from India from September following the devastating flash floods that hit the country on August 26, The Indian Express had earlier reported.

Electricity trade between Nepal and India is seasonal, with Nepal exporting surplus power to the country during monsoon and importing electricity during the dry winter months when domestic hydropower generation declines.

Usually, Nepal makes such requests for electricity imports from India around October. This year, however, the request has come earlier after flash floods damaged the country’s power generation capacity. According to some assessments available with Indian government officials, Nepal’s domestic power generation capacity has fallen by around 550 megawatts (MW) following damage to hydropower facilities.

Consequently, cross-border power flow to India is reduced by approximately 400 MW from previous peak export levels of around 900-1,000 MW. The floods affected 13 hydropower plants, including several under-construction projects, as well as a solar power plant, Nepal’s Energy Ministry had said in an earlier statement.

At least one hydropower plant — 14-MW Devighat hydropower plant — that supplies electricity to India was among the power plants affected by the floods, The Indian Express had earlier reported.