Bangladesh is going to sign a final agreement to import 700MW of hydropower from Nepal next month. The agreement has already been drafted.
Currently, per unit generation cost of hydropower is at taka 0.3. But there is no direct border between Bangladesh and Nepal, so the electricity has to be brought by constructing a transmission line through India.
Due to Indian conditions, Bangladesh is not able to buy electricity directly from Nepal. It must buy the electricity from Indian company, which will increase the electricity tariff.
Experts say Bangladesh is providing various benefits to India. India should also give benefits to Bangladesh in this regard. If India relaxes conditions, the cost of importing electricity will be much lower. To this end, Bangladesh's diplomatic activities should be strengthened.
However, it has not been confirmed yet how much it will cost to bring electricity from Nepal.
State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said, "We are now focusing on renewable energy. The target has been set to generate 40 percent of electricity from renewable energy by 2040. As part of this, our plan is to buy hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan.”
“Our negotiations are finalised to sign an agreement with Nepal. Consultant has been appointed. We may get their report within this month. Hopefully, the final agreement will be signed by next month,” he added.
The state minister said “Indian company GMR was constructing a transmission line in India on the basis of an agreement. Now, we will sign an agreement with Nepal to import electricity. However, we have also plan to export electricity to Nepal in future. We are trying to export our electricity to them during the dry season.”
The only hydropower plant in Bangladesh is located at Kaptai in Rangamati district. It is possible to generate 230 MW of electricity during the monsoon season, but it is not possible to run the plant fully during the dry season due to lack of water.
The government has conducted a survey inside the country and it is not possible to build a hydropower plant anywhere else. Considering this, if electricity can be imported from neighboring countries, it is possible to get it at an affordable price.
According to the decision of the Government of Nepal, the power authority of Nepal will be able to sell surplus power to Bangladesh and India after meeting the demand in the country. If the generation is less than the demand, it will be able to buy electricity from these two countries.
An official said the power import business of India is controlled by one of its policies. According to their clause, only electricity business can be done under the bilateral agreement. That is why Bangladesh did not get the benefit of importing electricity directly from Nepal.
However, India got a transit facility in 2016 for transporting goods through Bangladesh to the states known as Seven Sisters of India. Since 2010, India has been transiting heavy goods and food grains from the power plant using the Ashuganj seaport and Ashuganj-Akhaura about 45 km road without any fee.
Energy expert Professor Dr. M Shamsul Alam told Bangladesh Post, "There was a bargaining opportunity at this point. In return for the benefits we have given to India in terms of transportation of goods, in terms of tax tolls, India could have revoked this clause for Bangladesh. The unequal control policy imposed by India on electricity imports, I think Bangladesh should fight it diplomatically. "
According to him, if Bangladesh imports electricity directly from Nepal, the price of this hydropower will be much lower. It will be cheaper to import this electricity than to generate it. However, if Bangladesh does not take that advantage, it will be a diplomatic failure for Bangladesh.
In December 2016, Nepal's Energy Minister Janardhan Sharma visited Dhaka. During that time, the issue of Nepal-Bangladesh hydropower generation was finalized. In addition, when the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lotte Schering came to Bangladesh last March, Bangladesh offered to build a hydropower plant there.
According to sources, the Indian company GMR Group has built a 900 MW hydropower plant upstream of the Karnali River in Nepal for export. Nepal has the potential to generate 40,000 MW of hydropower.
Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s NVVN to import electricity from the Upper Karnali scheme via India during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in April 2017.
Bangladesh-Nepal bilateral relations found new pace in August 2018 with the signing of an energy cooperation agreement to oversee investment, development and trade in hydroelectricity between the two countries. Under this arrangement, Bangladesh will import up to 9,000 MW of hydropower from Nepal by 2040.
