The government has approved the purchase of 40 Megawatt of hydro-electricity from Nepal for 5 years using the national grid of India.
The each unit of this electricity will cost Tk 8.17.
The cabinet committee on procurement of goods approved the import of hydropower on Tuesday afternoon.
It is reported that an agreement was signed between Bangladesh and Nepal in May last year regarding the import of electricity. According to the agreement, a total of 40 MW of electricity will come to Bangladesh, including 24 MW from the Trishuli project in Nepal and 16 MW from another power plant. This electricity will come to the national grid via India in Bangladesh.
The Cabinet Committee on 'Power Sector Development and Import' held a meeting on September 10 with the aim of importing electricity from Nepal. Former Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal was the head of that committee. In the meeting, AHM Mustafa Kamal asked about the tariff of electricity import from Nepal. Then, State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid said the price of electricity imported from Nepal will be lower than the price of coal-based electricity produced in the country.
In the discussion of that meeting, it emerged that Nepal is interested in taking electricity from Bangladesh in winter. Demand for electricity is high in Nepal in winter, while demand is low in Bangladesh.
Bd pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
