India approves electricity exports to flood-hit Nepal

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India approved the export of electricity to Nepal on Monday to help its neighbour overcome shortages caused by extensive damage to its hydropower projects from catastrophic floods last month.

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The August 26 flood, triggered by a glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people in Nepal and Tibet.

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Hundreds of workers at a series of hydropower projects are among more than 5,300 people still missing in Nepal.

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India will transmit up to 600 megawatts of electricity for 18 hours daily until the end of the year, the Ministry of Power said in a statement.

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“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.

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The amount of electricity to be supplied from January 2027 onwards will be reviewed in December.

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Four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity at the turn of the century, according to the International Energy Agency, but a dam-building spree has since helped connect nearly all its 30 million people to the grid.

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Hydropower has also emerged as a key driver of its exports to India and Bangladesh.

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However, authorities suspended electricity exports after the floods hit at least 12 hydropower projects.

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Nepal had estimated the reconstruction bill after deadly floods would amount to $4.78 billion, according to the foreign ministry last Friday.n

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Prime Minister Balendra Shah has vowed to “strongly raise” with the international community the disasters that Nepal has experienced as a result of climate change.

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On Monday, September 7, 2026, Nepal held a national mourning day for victims of the floods.n

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Flags flew at half-mast, with candlelight vigils planned later in the day, as the nation marked the 13th day after the deaths, following Hindu mourning rituals.

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AFP

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