Bangladesh delegation in Nepal to sign contract to import 40 MW electricity
A Bangladesh delegation on Monday went to Nepal to sign a contract to import 40 megawatts of electricity from the Himalayan nation.
The eight-member delegation, led by Senior Secretary of the Power Division, Habibur Rahman, is scheduled to sign the contract on October 4. The agreement will involve a tripartite arrangement between Bangladesh, Nepal, and India, as the electricity will be transmitted through Indian territory.
According to sources from the Power Division, the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has already received approval from the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) to proceed with the electricity import from Nepal.
Under the terms of the agreement, the electricity tariff has been set at 6.40 US cents per kilowatt-hour, which includes the energy price at India's Muzaffarpur Substation. In addition, there will be a margin of 0.0595 Indian Rupees per kilowatt-hour for the Indian contractor, along with transmission charges to be determined by the Indian Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
A BPDB official estimated that with this tariff structure, the cost of each unit of electricity imported from Nepal will be approximately Tk 8.50. The official also noted that the cost could have been lower if Bangladesh had been able to import the electricity directly from Nepal without involving Indian transmission.
Bangladesh has been negotiating with Nepal for several years to secure this electricity import deal. However, it took considerable time to reach a mutual understanding between Bangladesh, Nepal, and India to finalize the contract.
Currently, Bangladesh imports electricity from India under a similar arrangement, where power is supplied to BPDB by the Indian company NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN).
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