Bangladesh and India have settled the price of electricity that Dhaka intends to import from Tripura. Each unit of the 100 megawatt electricity will cost Tk6.43, excluding wheeling charges.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and Tripura's Chief Minister Manik Sarkar fixed the price at $.08 per unit or 5.5 Indian rupees at a meeting in Dhaka on Saturday.
“We have decided to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA). The PPA proposal will be sent to the law ministry for vetting and then forwarded to the Cabinet committee on purchase,” Nasrul told journalists after the meeting.
Manik Sarkar arrived on Friday and met Nasrul and Power Division officials over the proposed power purchase from Palatana Power Plant.
The import is expected to start from February. It was scheduled to start from December 16 last year on the Victory Day but the transmission lines were not complete.
A Power Division official, declining to be named, claimed importing power at this time was not necessary. “We have a surplus in power generation and the rate is higher than the previous one,” he said, suggesting power import between April and May when the demand for electricity runs high.
The import process had run into murky water following disagreement on the price even as the trans-border grid was ready. Bangladesh has been importing 500 MW power from India through Bheramara since 2014 at Tk4.50 per unit.
India and Bangladesh have completed construction of transmission lines to facilitate supply of an additional 100 MW. A 47km transmission line from western Tripura to southern Comilla has been constructed.
The Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and the Power Generation Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) have tested the transmission lines on both sides and found it to be operational.