India has approved export of power to Nepal for 18 hours a day until December 31 after a devastating flood in the Himalayan nation last month wiped out about a tenth of its generation capacity, neighbour India’s power ministry said on Monday.
The deluge, triggered by the collapse of a glacier, has killed nearly 1,400 people in Nepal and Tibet, and swept away more than 12 hydropower plants in Nepal.
What the approval says
About 900 power station workers are among more than 5,300 people still missing.
Approval has been given to export up to 654 megawatts, the ministry said in its statement, adding that the quantum of power to be exported from January would be reviewed in December.
“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.
Renewables as a growing source
Hydropower, which supplies almost all of Nepal’s electricity, had become a fast-growing source of its export revenue.
After the flood ravaged the Bagmati province, its main hydropower-producing region, however, the country halted power exports and said it would buy electricity from India to cover domestic shortages in the coming months.
Nepali officials said last week that they would ask wealthier countries and global agencies for financial help, arguing they should contribute to the $5 billion needed for initial rebuilding as the disaster shows how climate change has hit poor countries that did little to cause it.
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