Date: 29/09/2022

Relevance: GS-2: India and its Neighbourhood- Relations.

Key Phrases: Investment Board Nepal, India-Nepal Relations, West Seti Hydroelectric Project, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited, Mahakali Treaty, Upper Karnali Project, Arun Three projects.

Why in News?

• The Investment Board Nepal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India’s National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited to develop the West Seti and Seti River (SR6) projects - a total of 1,200 MW.

Many hurdles (Background):

• Historically, the 750MW West Seti Hydroelectric Project was thought of in the early 1980s as a 37 MW run-of-the-river scheme.
• Nepal issued the developing license to France’s Sogreah, which prepared a pre-feasibility study in 1987 proposing the scheme without building a dam.
• With the project failing to see the light of the day, Australia’s Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) acquired a majority stake in the early 1990s.
• Between 1997-2011, attempts to make progress were affected due to investment and environmental concerns.
• Consequently, the China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation stepped in in 2009, with SMEC holding a majority stake.
• However, China National Machinery, and Equipment Import and Export Corporation withdrew citing a poor investment environment.
• In 2011 Nepal revoked the license of the West Seti Hydropower Company Limited in which SMEC had a majority stake, and handed it over to China.
• In an MoU in 2012, China’s Three Gorges International Corporation was assigned to develop the project, but it withdrew in 2018, citing resettlement and rehabilitation issues.
• Subsequently, Nepal tried to develop the project by mobilizing internal resources. However, increased costs resulted in further delays.
• Meanwhile, the project was remodelled as the West Seti and Seti River (SR6) joint storage project (1,200 MW).

Benefits for India:

• Hydropower cooperation:
  • The decision to involve India is a sign that Nepal is reposing its faith in India to complete the project.
  • If completed, it is expected to provide India the much-needed leverage in future hydropower cooperation.
  • The NHPC has initiated a preliminary engagement of the site with an investment of over ₹18,000 crores.
  • It has also signed an MoU with Power Trading Corporation Limited, India for the sale of power.
  • India is already involved in the Mahakali Treaty (6,480 MW), the Upper Karnali Project (900 MW), and the Arun Three projects (900 MW) in western and eastern Nepal, respectively.
• Minimize Chinese influence:
  • This project will also help India minimize the geopolitical influence of China and firm its presence in Nepal, considering that the West Seti Hydroelectric Project was a major Chinese venture under the Belt and Road Initiative.
  • The project has the potential to enhance cross-border power exchanges between the two countries.
• Nepal’s hydropower potential:
  • Ironically, despite its huge hydropower potential, Nepal experiences power shortages during peak times, increasing its dependence on India to bridge the shortfall.
  • With an estimated potential of 83,000 MW, Nepal’s electricity exports to India are expected to increase foreign exchange and address the power shortage.
  • It is estimated that if the hydropower potential is fully harnessed, Nepal can generate revenue to the tune of ₹310 billion in 2030 and ₹1,069 billion per year in 2045 by exporting electricity to India.
• Alternative to India’s power deficit:
  • Similarly, India’s severe deficit in coal-based thermal power plants in recent years, which meet 70% of India’s electricity demand, has compelled the Government to arrange supplies through coal imports, accelerating the search for better alternatives.
  • Given the growing energy demand, the West Seti Hydroelectric Project can provide an added alternative and viable way to address power deficits.

Steps to take:

• Conducive investment environment:
  • The revised cost of the construction process has increased to $2.04 billion.
  • Since investment-related constraints have delayed the project, there needs to be a careful study of investment scenarios, particularly a conducive investment environment, distribution and transmission network, and cost of resettlement and rehabilitation, at the preliminary stage.
• Electricity rates:
  • Nepal is concerned that the electricity rates and supply from India are inadequate to meet the rising demands.
  • To address these concerns, the new MoU has already revised the percentage share of energy that Nepal will receive free of cost from the generation projects to 21.9% from 10% (Section 6.1) and provides for discussion ‘in good faith for further modalities, including Section 6.1’ to make it commercially viable (Section 6.2).
  • Further, to address domestic demand, the MoU allows Nepal to request the NHPC to sell the power generated from the projects to the domestic market before selling whole or part to the export market (Section 8.2).
• Extension of projects to regional partners:
  • The project can also be extended to other regional partners under the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) framework for cross-border energy cooperation.
  • For example, if the combined estimated hydropower potential in Nepal and Bhutan, along with the potential of Northeast India, is effectively harnessed, a cross-border energy market can be created and optimally operationalized. It will be a win-win at the bilateral and regional levels.

Conclusion:

• The success of the project is expected to restore India’s image in Nepal and give it weightage in future considerations for hydropower projects when competition is bound to be tough.
• West Seti, therefore, has the potential to be a defining model for Nepal and India’s power relations in the future.
• This will also help Nepal shed its image of a “buffer” between India and China and replace it with a more credible identity of a crucial supplier of hydroelectric power.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Being fellow riparian nations, India and Nepal should potentially use their shared water resources to harness the potential of their partnerships in hydropower. Discuss.