Nepal’s Electricity Export Earnings Hit Record NPR 29.32 Billion
Nepal earned a record NPR 29.32 billion from electricity exports in FY2025-26, up 67.96% from the previous year. Higher hydropower sales to India and Bangladesh helped the country generate an NPR 18.76 billion electricity trade surplus.
Export revenue rises by 67.96%
Nepal earned a record NPR 29.32 billion from electricity exports in fiscal year 2025-26 as surplus monsoon hydropower production supported higher sales to India and Bangladesh. According to Jagran, citing the Nepal Electricity Authority, export revenue increased by 67.96% from the previous fiscal year and reached its highest annual level on record.
The result represented a sharp increase from FY2024-25, when Nepal earned NPR 17.46 billion from power exports. Exported electricity volumes rose from 2.3829 billion kWh in FY2024-25 to 3.877 billion kWh in FY2025-26. Nepal received an average price of NPR 7.56 per kWh for the electricity sold during the latest fiscal year.
India remains the principal market
India continued to be the largest buyer of Nepalese electricity. Nepal sells power through the Indian Energy Exchange’s day-ahead and real-time markets, as well as under a long-term electricity trading agreement with India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam. Bangladesh also purchases Nepalese hydropower, with deliveries moving through India’s transmission network.
Nepal first received permission to sell electricity in the Indian market in 2021, when its approved export capacity was limited to 39 MW. That capacity has since increased to more than 1,000 MW during the monsoon season. Bangladesh currently imports 40 MW of Nepalese electricity through the Indian grid, giving Nepal a second regional destination while underlining India’s central role as both a customer and a transit country.
Lower imports produce a trade surplus
Higher exports coincided with a reduction in Nepal’s electricity import dependence. The country imported 1.1498 billion kWh in FY2025-26, down 31.57% from 1.6804 billion kWh in FY2024-25. Import expenditure declined by 18.29%, from NPR 12.92 billion to NPR 10.56 billion. Together, stronger export earnings and lower import costs produced an electricity trade surplus of NPR 18.76 billion in FY2025-26.
Further transmission expansion could increase bilateral flows. At the 13th meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Steering Committee, the two countries agreed to expand cross-border electricity trade through the 400 kV Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur and Dhalkebar-Sitamarhi transmission lines. The planned arrangements would allow Nepal to export up to 1,650 MW to India and import as much as 1,400 MW when required. The figures show how rising domestic hydropower production, additional cross-border capacity and access to multiple Indian market channels are changing Nepal’s seasonal power balance. Producers gain a larger market for monsoon surpluses, while traders and utilities receive more options for managing supply across South Asia. Continued growth, however, remains closely tied to transmission availability and market access through India.