India Sends Power to Nepal After Floods Reverse Energy Fortunes

Nepal, a country that usually gets nearly all its electricity from hydropower and even exports the surplus, is now in the unusual position of needing to import power. The reason? Devastating floods wiped out a significant chunk of its energy infrastructure, leaving thousands without power.

Enter India, stepping up to deliver up to 654 megawatts of electricity to its neighbor for 18 hours each day. This arrangement is set to run until December 31st, with a review scheduled for January. It’s a pretty stark reversal of fortunes for Nepal, which typically prides itself on its green energy independence.

The catastrophe struck on August 26th, when a glacial mountain collapse triggered severe flooding across Nepal and Tibet. The human toll is heartbreaking: over 1,400 people killed, and more than 5,500 still missing — including at least 900 power station workers. The economic damage is equally staggering.

At least 12 hydropower projects were severely damaged or destroyed, turning Nepal from an energy exporter into an importer overnight. Thousands are displaced, living in aid centers, and the United Nations is scrambling to raise nearly $50 million for survivors.

Nepali officials estimate the initial rebuilding effort will cost at least $5 billion. They're also quick to point out the bitter irony: poorer nations like Nepal, which contribute the least to climate change, are often the ones bearing its most immediate and brutal consequences. A rather inconvenient truth, delivered by a raging river.