Kathmandu. Experts have said that policy intervention is needed to increase investment in the energy sector at the South Asia (BIN) Power Summit 2025 held in India.

The summit, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, was attended by long-standing energy entrepreneurs and government officials in the energy sector of Bhutan, India and Nepal (BIN). A 5-member team led by Mohan Kumar Dangi, Senior Vice President of Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal (IPPAN), representing the private sector of Nepal, participated in the conference. The government officials were led by Nutan Kumar Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and Deputy Director General of the Department of Power Development.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the conference jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sharma said that Nepal is capable of producing clean energy to meet the electricity demand of South Asia.

Speaking at a session on ‘Accelerating Investment in Power Sector: Intervention Required’, IPPAN Senior Vice President Mohan Kumar Dangi said that policy interventions are necessary in BIN countries to accelerate investment in energy sector. Reminding that the government was moving ahead with a target to generate 28,500 megawatts of electricity within 2035, Dangi urged the Chinese nationals to invest in Bitubi to invest 46.5 billion dollars to meet the target. He said that the BIN countries should focus on potential strategies to increase investment in areas that support cross-border electricity trade in the long and short term, as large investments are required in power generation, distribution, open access and infrastructure development.

“There is huge demand for clean energy in India and Bangladesh and there is immense potential for hydropower production in Nepal, so the BIN countries are working together to meet the demand of clean energy from India and Bangladesh,” he said. According to him, Nepal has the capacity to generate 4,000 MW of electricity, 5,500 MW is under construction under the leadership of the private sector and another 3,000 MW is in the final stage of construction. Dangi said that the private sector is also studying another 20,000 MW hydropower project.

Speaking at the Strategy for Enhancing Energy Corporation through Cross-Border Power Trade session, IPPAN Vice President Ashish Garg said that the demand for electricity in the region (BIN) has been increasing in the last two years and there is a need to increase electricity trade. Deputy Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Subhash Kumar Mishra, who participated in the discussion, said that although there are some challenges in the BIN electricity trade, the electricity trade can be expedited if the plan and specific strategy are made.

He was of the view that there should be proper planning in generation, distribution and transmission to promote open access and electricity trade, for which structural, commercial and regulatory aspects should be prepared for a broader electricity trading scenario through policy interventions.

Speaking at the session on ‘Creating a Framework to Promote Power Exchange: Challenges and Opportunities’, IPPAN Vice President Uttam Bhlon Lama said that although electricity trade was done on a long-term basis in the past, now as per the new cross-border power trade guidelines brought by India, it is possible to trade in the day ahead market (DAM) on a daily basis. Currently, Nepal exports more than 1,000 MW of electricity to India and 40 MW to Bangladesh. Lama also said that the tariff of electricity being exported to Bangladesh is stable and import and export is being done in the Indian market in both stable and day-ahead manner.

Lama said that electricity trade is taking place only at the government level in this sector and the private sector is waiting for permission after completing all preparations for electricity trade. Still, trading in the cross-border electricity exchange is in the initial stage, so there is a need to devise appropriate strategies to increase the penetration of electricity exchanges in the region, Lama said.

During the conference, Past Executive Member of IPPAN Abhidnya Malla participated in a panel discussion on ‘Promoting Hydropower and Pump Storage: Prospect and Progress Show for Four’ session and Chief Executive Officer of National Transmission Grid Company (RPGCL) Sagar Shrestha participated in a panel discussion on ‘One Sun One World One Grid Connectivity: Creating Sustainability through Grid Integration’.