DHAKA: Marking a key step in bilateral co-operation, India will start supplying electricity to Bangladesh from October 5 through the new transmission line between the two nations.

Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has part financed the project, said, “Electricity will tomorrow begin to flow from India to Bangladesh through a new transmission line, marking South Asia’s first-ever high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnection between two countries.”

Early last year, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd, the trading arm of power producer NTPC, and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had inked an electricity purchase pact.

The transmission line would link India’s eastern power grid with the western electricity grid of Bangladesh.

ADB in a statement said, “Testing of the sub-station installations has been ongoing since early September but the interconnection will be in operation starting October 5.”

The multilateral lender said that from tomorrow, the trading arm of NTPC would commence supply to the Bangladesh Power Development Board under a government-to-government contract.

ADB also said: “This will be increased to 250 MW in November 2013 and a further 250 MW will be added by the end of 2013. The project could eventually be scaled up to allow 1,000 MW of power flows.”

This arrangement would help Bangladesh to purchase power from India at cheaper rates than buying from rental plants in that country.

The interconnection on the Bangladesh side comprises 500 MW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) substation at Bheramara, about 27 kilometers in 400 kilovolt transmission lines from Bheramara to the Indian border and a link to the Bangladesh electricity grid.

ADB helped finance the USD 199 million interconnection facilities in Bangladesh with a USD 112 million loan. State-owned transmission utility Power Grid Corp built and financed the infrastructure on the Indian side.

Director General of ADB’s South Asia Department Juan Miranda said the “groundbreaking link will help provide urgently needed power to Bangladesh”.

Miranda noted that the link would also be a key milestone for South Asia as it looks to set up a regional energy market to make the best use of the region’s diverse and unevenly distributed energy resources.

More cross-border energy links are currently being considered in South Asia, including on Bangladesh’s eastern borders.

Source: business-standard
BDST: 1806 HRS, OCT 04, 2013
SR/AKA/JCK