PDB to buy 500 MW more power from India

The government purchase committee on public procurement is set to allow the Power Development Board (PDB) to buy another 500MW of electricity from Indian open market at higher price.
"The issue will be placed before the purchase committee next week for endorsement. Per unit electricity will cost TK2 more than the previous rate," a senior official of the Power Division told the Daily Observer.
The power will be imported under a short-term deal while the timeframe will be 15 years for a long-term import.
"This time we are going to purchase power from two Indian companies, Indian state-run NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) and PTC India Ltd," said a senior official of the Power Division.
The NVVN sought Tk4.7148 a unit for short-term and Tk6.4891 a unit for a 15-year power trade deal. The company assured the supply of 300MW of electricity under both the deals.
The PTC India Ltd has sought Tk4.8647 a unit for short-term and Tk6.5474 per unit for a long-term power deal.
The Indian firms will charge Tk0.1060 per unit as transmission charge on top of a 0.29 percent transmission loss at the withdrawal point in Baharampur Substation," he added.
According to the Power Division, Bangladesh is paying Tk4.7148 and Tk4.8647 for per unit for a short-term power import, but the tariff for this long term deals will range between Tk6.4891 and Tk6.5474 per unit, which is a reverse one.
The government currently imports 250MW of electricity from India at a cost of Tk2.86 per unit.
Dhaka also purchases another 40MW at a cost of
Tk4.59 a unit while electricity import from Tripura costs Tk6.30 a unit.   
The Indian government is imposing higher transmission charges and transmission losses coupled with the current duty structures which have finally pushed up the power import cost for Bangladesh.
"We have repeatedly asked the Indian authorities to review their duty structure, but� everything has gone in vain," said an official.
Earlier, the Power Division Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus told the media that he was expecting that the Indian government would review it.
The government has been importing a total of 640MW of electricity from India since October 5, 2013 through Bharamara grid line.
Of the volume, 250MW of power comes from Indian state-owned NVVN's unallocated quota at an average market tariff of Tk2.78 per kilowatt (per unit). Besides, another 250MW comes through Indian open market through PTC with per unit tariff at US$0.0749.