Tripura, one of the few electricity-surplus states in the Northeast, is exploring the possibility of exporting power to Nepal after Bangladesh, the state's power minister Ratan Lal Nath said.

Tripura eyes wider regional trade, investing Rs 935 crore to boost efficiency and develop major new renewable and gas-based power projects. “A meeting was held in New Delhi regarding the export of power to Nepal, and the Central government will take the final call,” Nath said.

Tripura, which borders Bangladesh along 856 kms, already supplies over 100 MW of power to the neighbouring country. The state began exporting 100 MW from the ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) plant at Palatana in Gomati district in March 2016.

The supply often rises to 160 MW. "Since the first agreement in 2016, we have renewed it twice to continue the supply," an official of Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) said, adding that Bangladesh government has recently requested Tripura to increase the supply to 250 MW to meet its growing power demand.

Nath noted that the state is adopting new technologies to boost generation efficiency amid a decline in natural gas availability. “With World Bank support, Rs 935 crore is being invested to double power generation using the same amount of gas through combined cycle gas turbine technology at Rokhia in Sepahijala district,” he said.

He also announced that an 800 MW pumped storage power project will come up at Chawmanu in Dhalai district, with the Detailed Project Report (DPR) under preparation. To ensure uninterrupted supply to Bangladesh, a 400 KV sub-station will also be established at Suryamani Nagar near Agartala, he added.

The state government, he said, is now pushing to make all government offices energy self-sufficient by installing rooftop solar power plants to meet their electricity needs.