Cross border power trade to double at 5 GW by 2020 in South Asia: Juster

US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster today said cross border electricity in South Asia is expected to be doubled to 5,000 MW in view of rising demand.

"Presently, approximately 2,500 MW of electricity is traded in the region, a figure expected to double by the end of 2020," Juster said during a special address at the inaugural session of 'Regional Conference on Enhancing Energy Co-operation and Integration in South Asia' organised by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe).

He said, "South Asia has a vast diversity of energy resources, particularly hydropower and renewable energy. With rapidly rising energy demand across all the countries in the region, there are huge opportunities for regional development and the optimisation of available energy resources through an interconnected power system, enabled by cross-border electricity trade."
He also said, "I applaud all our colleagues in the region for joining in this pursuit of regional grid integration. The United States is proud to partner with each country to ensure energy security, expand prosperity, and promote a rules-based order in South Asia."
Power Minister R K Singh, while delivering the keynote address, stressed opportunities for collaboration on cross-border power trade: Power trade will enable sharing of competitive advantage and will bring prices down for everyone in the region. We have seen the benefits of power trade bilaterally and we must now extend it regionally. There is a huge journey ahead which we have to do together."
He said, "The SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation was signed in 2014 to develop a market for electricity. It has been ratified by six countries till date and will allow unrestricted cross-border trade of electricity. A forum of the SAARC Energy regulators has also been established to promote regional energy integration. The SAARC Energy Centre is actively pursuing the overall objective of regional integration in energy."