The paper presents the results of a study on the economic and reliability benefits of electricity trading among the countries in South Asia encompassing the subregion containing Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It specifically examined the costs and benefits of six ongoing or planned cross-border electricity transmission interconnections. The study demonstrated that large-scale transmission interconnection capacity would assist development of large hydropower potential in Nepal and Bhutan, which could then be transferred to India resulting in a significant drop in fossil fuel use, power shortages and carbon dioxide emissions in the region. The authors emphasize the need to construct these transmission interconnections in an orderly manner, extending the existing power exchanges in India to accommodate regional trading and strengthening legal and regulatory regimes.
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