Scientists see the Lende Khola disaster as part of a widening Himalayan hazard pattern, where thawing permafrost, retreating glaciers and expanding glacial lakes expose communities to faster risks.
Nepal’s electricity exports to Bangladesh have effectively stopped after devastating floods along the Bhotekoshi river system damaged hydropower plants and transmission infrastructure, cutting the country’s wet-season power exports from about 1,000 megawatts to around 650 MW.
The August 26 flood damaged the 22.1 MW Chilime Hydropower Project and the 24 MW Trishuli Hydropower Project, the two plants authorised to supply electricity to Bangladesh through India. Both projects have stopped generating electricity since last week.
An electrical substation and transport vehicles were also inundated with thick mud, silt and debris following the Bhotekoshi flash flood.
Nepal normally produces abundant electricity during the monsoon as heavy rainfall swells rivers feeding its run-of-river hydropower plants. The increased generation allows the country to meet domestic demand and export surplus electricity to neighbouring countries.
This year, however, the same rivers have become a major source of disruption.
Nepal had been exporting an average of about 1,000 MW during the wet season before the flood. That volume has now fallen to around 650 MW, disrupting the country’s push to establish itself as a regional electricity exporter after years of relying heavily on imports, particularly during the dry winter months.
Chilime had approval to sell 21.4 MW to India while Trishuli had approval for 18.6 MW. Both projects were also authorised to supply electricity to Bangladesh through the Indian grid. Nepal receives payment in US dollars for electricity sold to Bangladesh.
“Both projects supplying electricity to Bangladesh have been damaged, so we have asked India to allow electricity from another project to be sent as an alternative,” said Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, acting managing director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. “At present, electricity exports to Bangladesh are effectively at zero.”
The damage extends well beyond Chilime and Trishuli. Generation has stopped at 12 hydropower projects since the flood.
The Nepal Electricity Authority has placed the Sanjen, Upper Sanjen and Salasungi projects in “isolated mode” after their transmission lines were damaged. The plants are therefore operating outside the national grid and producing electricity only to meet demand in nearby areas.
The flood, however, is not the only factor restricting Nepal’s electricity exports.
At a time when the country would normally be exporting its largest volumes of electricity to India, Nepal is unable to sell another 73.75 MW generated by three hydropower projects because India has yet to renew their export approvals.
The export approval for the 38.8 MW Upper Chameliya Hydropower Project expired on June 31 and has not been renewed. Approvals for the 24.25 MW Seti River and 10.70 MW Upper Tadi Khola projects expired on July 31.
Until the approvals are renewed, the Nepal Electricity Authority cannot export their combined 73.75 MW of electricity to India. Export approvals must be renewed annually.
India’s Central Electricity Authority is the designated agency responsible for approving electricity imports and exports. Nepal must obtain or renew approval before power generated by individual projects can be sold across the border.
The difficulties underline the constraints Nepal continues to face as it seeks to expand regional electricity trade.
Nepal has so far secured Indian approval to export electricity generated by 37 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of about 1,200 MW. Chilime and Trishuli were among those projects.
Nepal sells surplus electricity to India through the Indian Energy Exchange’s day-ahead and real-time markets as well as through bilateral medium-term power sales agreements with the Indian states of Haryana and Bihar.
Electricity trade between Nepal and India takes place through several transmission links, including the 400-kV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur line and the 132-kV Tanakpur-Mahendranagar, Kataiya-Kushaha, Raxaul-Parwanipur, Gandak-Ramnagar and Mainahiya-Sampatiya lines.
Supplying Bangladesh through the Indian grid adds another layer of complexity.
At a Nepal-Bangladesh energy secretary-level Joint Steering Committee meeting in Dhaka in November 2025, the two countries agreed to increase Nepal’s electricity exports to Bangladesh by another 20 MW under their existing 40 MW arrangement.
They also agreed to begin the procedures required for the additional exports. India subsequently said the extra 20 MW could not be transmitted because of insufficient transmission capacity.
Nepal again requested Indian approval for the additional 20 MW during a Nepal-India energy secretary-level Joint Steering Committee meeting in June.
The Nepal Electricity Authority has also sought permission to export electricity generated by other projects, including the 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project.
Indian approval, however, has not been forthcoming for projects involving Chinese investment, Chinese contractors or, in some cases, Chinese equipment.
Upper Tamakoshi is a prominent example. Indian companies received contracts for the project’s hydromechanical, electromechanical and transmission-line works, but a Chinese company carried out its civil works. India has so far not approved electricity generated by the project for export.
Nepal has repeatedly raised the issue during bilateral energy meetings.
The formal restriction applies to electricity generated by projects involving investment from third countries that share a land border with India but do not have a bilateral power-sector cooperation agreement with India.
In practice, however, Nepalese officials and energy-sector stakeholders say India has also been reluctant to approve electricity exports from projects involving Chinese contractors or Chinese equipment, including projects without Chinese investment.
They say diplomatic engagement will be necessary for Nepal to expand its electricity exports.
“Renewing or obtaining approval for electricity exports requires negotiations at different levels,” said former energy minister Kulman Ghising. “Sometimes it is with officials, sometimes with the executive director and sometimes through the foreign ministry and embassy. Depending on the situation, we need to negotiate and focus on securing and renewing approvals for power trade.”
Ghising said he had negotiated an agreement for Nepal to sell 650 MW of electricity to India at 5.45 Indian rupees per unit, but the country had since been unable to increase that volume.
The latest disruption comes after Nepal began exporting electricity in 2021, marking a major shift for a country that had previously depended heavily on electricity imports.
During the 2025-26 fiscal year, Nepal exported electricity worth Rs29.32 billion to India and Bangladesh. It imported electricity worth Rs10.23 billion from India during the dry season, leaving a net power-trade surplus of Rs19.09 billion.
Nepal’s electricity trading model remains dependent on the seasonal flow of its rivers.
During the monsoon, plentiful water enables hydropower plants to generate more electricity than the country needs, allowing the surplus to be exported. During the dry season, falling river flows reduce generation while domestic demand remains high, forcing Nepal to import electricity from India.
The Bhotekoshi floods have disrupted that model at the time of year when Nepal would normally be maximising revenue from electricity exports.
The Nepal Electricity Authority is now seeking to restore damaged generation and transmission infrastructure while also asking India to approve the redirection of electricity from other operational projects to Bangladesh.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
