India has approved an emergency plan to export up to 654 megawatts of electricity to neighbouring Nepal to help ease shortages caused by extensive damage to hydropower infrastructure in recent floods.
India’s Ministry of Power said in a statement on Monday that up to 654 megawatts would be supplied for 18 hours a day through Dec. 31.
“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,” the ministry said, according to Al Jazeera.
The ministry said it would review in December the amount of electricity to be exported from January.
The floods, triggered on Aug. 26 by a glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, killed more than 1,400 people in Nepal and Tibet, according to Al Jazeera.
At least 12 hydropower projects in Nepal were damaged, while more than 5,500 people remained missing in the country, including at least 900 power station workers, Al Jazeera reported.
Almost all of Nepal’s electricity needs were met by hydropower before the floods, but the damage has forced the country to import electricity after years of exporting surplus power to India.
Thousands of displaced people are sheltering in aid centres, with many unlikely to return home soon.
The United Nations and its partners have appealed for nearly $50 million to support survivors.
Nepali officials estimate that at least $5 billion will be needed for initial reconstruction, saying the disaster highlights the vulnerability of poorer countries to climate change despite their relatively small contribution to global emissions.
The Himalayas, where Nepal is located, are approaching a tipping point as glaciers melt faster than they did a decade ago, threatening water security as the region approaches “peak water” by mid-century, according to a study released this month.
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