Bangladesh to buy 500mw power from India by 2012
Bangladesh to buy 500 MW power from India
M Azizur Rahman
India will sell at least 500 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh under an accord that Dhaka will sign with New Delhi during the prime minister's tour to the Indian capital next month, officials said Saturday.
Power Development Board chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir told the FE the authorities are giving final touches to a plan to import the power by mid-2012 to meet the country's soaring demand for energy.
A memorandum of understanding incorporating the plan is going to be signed between Bangladesh and India when Sheikh Hasina will make her first visit to New Delhi in her second term as the premier.
"Initially we'll buy at least 500 mw of electricity. It will cost us around US$200 million to bring the power across the border," Mr. Kabir said, adding the import could double within the tenure of the government.
The PDB will make the purchase while the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) and the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCI) will jointly set up transmission lines to carry the power to the Bangladeshi grid.
The PGCB would get wheeling charges from the PDB for bringing the power from the Indian national grid, PGCB managing director Ruhul Amin told the FE.
The charge would be fixed based on the quantity of electricity to be traded and the distances to the user ends, he said.
A six-member technical committee comprising top officials of the PGCB and the PGCI has already been constituted to determine how the power would be transmitted from the neighbouring Indian states, said the PGCB chief.
Several modes of funding options are now being considered to meet the $200 million investments required for establishing the electricity grid connections between the two South Asian nations, said a senior power ministry official.
Both the countries are planning to bear the inter-connection costs in their respective territories, while India is also weighing options to provide soft loans to Bangladesh to set up its connecting grid.
The Washington-based multilateral donor agency - World Bank - has also shown interest to fund the connecting grid - the first ever between the two neighbours.
Power ministry officials said initially they are planning import the power from the Indian state of West Bengal.
Electricity inter-connection between the Indian state of Tripura and Bangladesh's eastern region is also under consideration.
There is also a plan for investment from Bangladesh for installation of a 740-mw combined cycle gas-fired power plant in Agartala, the capital of Tripura, said the official.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangladesh and India would be signed for bilateral cooperation in power sector during Prime Minister's visit to New Delhi later this month.
Bangladesh requires additional electricity supplies as the country's electricity generation is now hovering around 3,700 mw against the peak hour demand for over 5,500 mw.
The country's electricity demand has been growing by 7.50 per cent annually since 1990.
Around 40 per cent of its population has access to electricity --- one of the lowest in the world ---, the power ministry statistics reveals.
As of June 2009, Bangladesh's electricity consumer-base reached 11 million. The country has now 8,000 kilometers of electricity transmission lines, 256,000 kilometers of distribution lines.
Augmenting electricity generation is a key priority of the Awami League government. It has pledged to generate 5,000 mw of power by 2011, and 7,000 mw by 2013.
Bangladesh to buy 500 MW power from India
M Azizur Rahman
India will sell at least 500 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh under an accord that Dhaka will sign with New Delhi during the prime minister's tour to the Indian capital next month, officials said Saturday.
Power Development Board chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir told the FE the authorities are giving final touches to a plan to import the power by mid-2012 to meet the country's soaring demand for energy.
A memorandum of understanding incorporating the plan is going to be signed between Bangladesh and India when Sheikh Hasina will make her first visit to New Delhi in her second term as the premier.
"Initially we'll buy at least 500 mw of electricity. It will cost us around US$200 million to bring the power across the border," Mr. Kabir said, adding the import could double within the tenure of the government.
The PDB will make the purchase while the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) and the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCI) will jointly set up transmission lines to carry the power to the Bangladeshi grid.
The PGCB would get wheeling charges from the PDB for bringing the power from the Indian national grid, PGCB managing director Ruhul Amin told the FE.
The charge would be fixed based on the quantity of electricity to be traded and the distances to the user ends, he said.
A six-member technical committee comprising top officials of the PGCB and the PGCI has already been constituted to determine how the power would be transmitted from the neighbouring Indian states, said the PGCB chief.
Several modes of funding options are now being considered to meet the $200 million investments required for establishing the electricity grid connections between the two South Asian nations, said a senior power ministry official.
Both the countries are planning to bear the inter-connection costs in their respective territories, while India is also weighing options to provide soft loans to Bangladesh to set up its connecting grid.
The Washington-based multilateral donor agency - World Bank - has also shown interest to fund the connecting grid - the first ever between the two neighbours.
Power ministry officials said initially they are planning import the power from the Indian state of West Bengal.
Electricity inter-connection between the Indian state of Tripura and Bangladesh's eastern region is also under consideration.
There is also a plan for investment from Bangladesh for installation of a 740-mw combined cycle gas-fired power plant in Agartala, the capital of Tripura, said the official.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangladesh and India would be signed for bilateral cooperation in power sector during Prime Minister's visit to New Delhi later this month.
Bangladesh requires additional electricity supplies as the country's electricity generation is now hovering around 3,700 mw against the peak hour demand for over 5,500 mw.
The country's electricity demand has been growing by 7.50 per cent annually since 1990.
Around 40 per cent of its population has access to electricity --- one of the lowest in the world ---, the power ministry statistics reveals.
As of June 2009, Bangladesh's electricity consumer-base reached 11 million. The country has now 8,000 kilometers of electricity transmission lines, 256,000 kilometers of distribution lines.
Augmenting electricity generation is a key priority of the Awami League government. It has pledged to generate 5,000 mw of power by 2011, and 7,000 mw by 2013.
