The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 180 million dollars loan to help Nepal overcome its crippling power shortages and export surplus power to neighboring India. The loan will help Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) finance a substantial upgrade and expansion of transmission and distribution lines and sub-stations, allowing the transfer of up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) of power to main load centers in the Kathmandu Valley. According to ADB, besides meeting domestic needs, this network expansion will give Nepal the ability to export at least 1,200 MW of electricity to India, once a second 400 kilovolt cross-border transmission line from Bardaghat to Gorakhpur in India is complete.With six new hydropower plants due to come on stream over the next three to six years, the country expects to have a substantial wet season supply surplus for export by 2018.