Bangladesh
Electricity Price Bangladesh reluctant to take responsibility for electricity price hike in India
Dhaka, January 25: Bangladesh will not take responsibility if the price of electricity goes up in India due to political reasons. The power department wants to add a new section for importing power from imported coal-fired power plants. However, the consent of the Government of India is required. That demand has already been raised by Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is buying 1,600 MW of electricity from Indian company Adani under construction in Jharkhand. This power plant is nearing completion.
This electricity is expected to come to Bangladesh next year i.e. in 2022. Construction of the gridline in the Indian part is nearing completion. PDB has already completed all the other processes including the purchase agreement with the power plant. This electricity will be added to the national grid through Bogra in Bangladesh. However, no back-to-back sub-station will be required for this. In order to export the entire power of the power plant to Bangladesh, its transmission line has been constructed to suit Bangladesh.
But what if there is a change in the price of electricity in a political decision in India for some reason? Although this discussion has not been so long, now Bangladesh is holding that discussion. Bangladesh said it is not possible for them to take responsibility for this. "In case of price change due to internal reasons, we have to maintain the price at which we have agreed to purchase electricity."
Asked about this, Director General of Power Cell Mohammad Hossain said the power plant is coal-fired. Governments around the world are now imposing strictures on coal-fired power plants. It was seen that at some point in the future, the Indian government imposed a tax on the environmental pollution of coal-fired power plants. We are saying that it is not possible for us to take responsibility for this tax.
An Indian delegation led by Indian Power Secretary Sanjeev Nandan Sahai arrived in Dhaka to attend a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee. The meeting was held in Dhaka till late night on January 23.
"We have stated that we will not take responsibility for the increase in electricity prices due to political reasons in India," an official of the power department said. "The Indian delegation says the issue should be included in the power purchase agreement. We are taking steps accordingly."
