The Cabinet Committee on Purchase approved, on Sunday, the power division’s proposal to import 250-megawatts of electricity from India’s open market, to meet the increasing demand of electricity in the country. As per the proposal, Bangladesh wanted to buy electricity at a rate of Tk. 6.35 per unit. However, it has also to pay the transmission charge of $0.004, per unit of electricity.
Finance minister MA Muhith presided over the meeting.
Power Trading Company (PTC) India Limited, an Indian power company, will supply electricity to Bangladesh for three years, through Indian government-controlled NTPC’s power plants in West Bengal.
“The import of electricity, for three years, from India’s open market, will cost Tk. 4,169 crore,” a senior official said.
According to the power division, the government had invited a tender through PTC and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN).
The contract includes a provision, whereby, the trading company would include tariff escalation, as per the rules of the India’s Central Energy Regulatory Commission (CERC), instead of fixed power tariff.
“We invited the tender on April 8, 2012, but it was non-responsive. Following suggestion from our consultant suggestion, we then moved to purchase electricity under Article 63 of the PPR 2008, by using limited tender method (LTD),” said a power official.
The state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) had invited the bids from Indian private power producers, to import 250-megawatt of electricity, in addition to 250-megawatt of power, to be imported from NTPC, under a state-to-state deal, he added.
The electricity will be transported via the under-construction transmission line at Baharampur substation in Murshidabad of India, to Bheramara grid substation of Kushtia in Bangladesh.
A power-purchase agreement (PPA) has already been signed, to import 250-megawatt of electricity from public sector producers, at an indicative price of INR 2.40 per unit. However, Bangladesh would purchase the electricity as per the notification issued by the CERC, a power division official said.
-With The Independent input
