KATHMANDU: Nepal earned a record Rs 29.32 billion from electricity exports to India and Bangladesh during the fiscal year 2025/26 (FY 2082/83), marking a 67.96 percent increase from the previous fiscal year and setting a new milestone for the country’s energy sector.

According to cross-border electricity trade statistics released by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Nepal exported 3.877 billion units (kWh) of electricity during the review year, up 62.89 percent from 2.383 billion units exported in FY 2024/25. The electricity was sold through the Indian power exchange and tripartite power trade with Bangladesh at an average price of Rs 7.56 per unit, generating total export earnings of Rs 29.32 billion.

At the same time, Nepal significantly reduced its dependence on imported electricity. Power imports fell 31.57 percent to 1.149 billion units in FY 2025/26, down from 1.680 billion units a year earlier.

The decline in import volumes also reduced Nepal’s electricity import bill. Total spending on imported power dropped to Rs 10.56 billion, an 18.29 percent decrease from Rs 12.92 billion recorded in the previous fiscal year.

After deducting import costs from export earnings, Nepal posted a record net electricity trade surplus of Rs 18.76 billion in FY 2025/26.

The surplus represents a 313 percent increase compared with the Rs 4.54 billion net surplus recorded in the previous fiscal year, highlighting Nepal’s rapid emergence as a regional exporter of clean hydropower and a strengthening contributor to the country’s external earnings.