Kathmandu, Apr. 20
The Energy Ministers of the Bay of Bengal Initiative
for Multilateral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have agreed to
prepare a master plan on 'grid connection', facilitate energy trade and set up
an energy trade centre.
The 'Grid Interconnection Coordination Committee'
will be set up to implement the grid interconnection and prepare the necessary
action plan, said the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI)
citing the BIMSTEC statement.
The third meeting of the BIMSTEC Energy Ministers
organised virtually on Wednesday was chaired by Minister for Energy, Water
Resources and Irrigation, Pampha Bhusal.
The meeting agreed to formulate a master plan for
the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection Coordination Committee with the assistance of
the Asian Development Bank. The meeting also agreed to develop policy and
tariff system for energy trade. The BIMSTEC nations have agreed to develop a
group of experts to plan cooperation on the modality of energy trade.
In her speech, Minister Bhusal maintained that the
BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection Master Plan Study, to be conducted with the
technical support from ADB, is expected to identify different transmission
projects to be built in the matching timeframes with the power generation
projects planned in different BIMSTEC countries.
"A rigorously thought-out plan will be critical
to facilitate the intra-regional power trade and enhanced energy
cooperation," she said.
Similarly, BIMSTEC Energy Centre will be established
for energy related research and to strengthen experience sharing and
cooperation among member countries. For that, it has been mentioned in the
statement that master plan and action plan will be developed, structure will be
prepared and necessary funds will be managed for its operation.
The establishment of BIMSTEC Energy Centre was
envisaged during the first BIMSTEC Energy Ministerial Meeting held in India in
2005.
Energy Minister Bhusal suggested increasing the use
of clean and renewable energy.
Stressing on the need for adequate financial
investment in energy promotion, she said that technology transfer should be
promoted in the BIMSTEC.
She stated that the 3E
nexus between energy, environment and economy is remarkably vital for achieving
sustainable economic growth in the BIMSTEC region. "Over the past decades,
we have been conventionally following the course of fossil fuel-based energy
production and consumption. This trend needs to be changed as much as possible
since it has enormously added stress on our environment," she said.
Minister Bhusal said that the agreement carries high
importance for Nepal since the country accords high importance to clean energy,
energy cooperation among the members in the region and cross-border energy
trade.
"Nepal
has a huge hydropower potential. Our hydropower export to the Member States of
the BIMSTEC will benefit not only Nepal but also the entire region for reducing
non-renewable energy generation and providing sustainability to the system,"
she stated.
However, most of the energy trade in our region is
bilateral in nature. The existing intra-regional energy trade is limited to
electricity and petroleum products.
"To diversify this trade, we must chart out
short-, medium-, and longer-term power trading projects that can gradually
ensure transition to renewable energy production with emphasis on achieving the
goals of a carbon-neutral economy," said Minister Bhusal.
Likewise, addressing the meeting on behalf of Nepal,
Secretary at the Ministry of Energy Devendra Karki said that progress was being
made in energy cooperation with the neighboring countries. He expressed the
belief that mutual trust, cooperation and partnership among the BIMSTEC nations
would help in adapting and upgrading the development efforts of the member
countries.
According to him, 93 per cent of Nepal's population
has access to electricity.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 April 2022.
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