Bangladesh will start importing 100 megawatt (MW) of electricity from the Indian state of Tripura on March 23 under no-electricity, no-payment method.
Director General of Power Cell Mohammad Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that Bangladesh will start receiving 100MW power from the 726MW gas based thermal Palatana power plant in Tripura from March 23.
“We have already fixed the per unit electricity price with the Tripura government at Tk6.43 per unit, excluding wheeling charges,” he said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will jointly inaugurate the power import through videoconferencing, he said.
Tests for getting power from the neighbouring country was completed this month.
Hossain said the infrastructure for importing another 100MW has already been laid out.
Bangladesh has been importing 500MW power from West Bengal through Bheramara since 2014. The first 250MW of power is purchased at Tk4.5 per unit while the rest is purchased at Tk6.00 per unit.
The Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and the Power Generation Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), both state-owned companies, tested the transmission lines on their respective sides in December last year.
The process of installing a 47km-long transmission line from Tripura to southern Comilla has also been completed.