Move to import power from Nepal uncertain

The move to import hydropower from Nepal hangs in the balance as Nepal and India have imposed multiple duties and heavy charges on power trade with Bangladesh in phases although the issue is still in negotiation table.
Power Division official said before completing many clauses of an agreement, Indian GMP Group and NVVN have submitted a tariff proposal to the government, which is extremely high.
Bangladesh, Nepal and GMR Group of India, have been working to materialize a 500-MW of electricity export to Bangladesh from Nepal's Upper Karnali
Hydropower Project for the last seven years. They have successfully completed signing of a non-binding MoU with GMR Group and Bangladesh and Nepal energy sector cooperation deal by this time.
Observing the two major steps, industry insiders feel that things are going to happen in different way, but the proposed tariff chart placed by the GMR has thrown a spanner on the plan.
GRM Group has proposed a costly tariff for power import (9.8 cents for per unit) from Nepal's hydroelectricity project. This price is more than coal- based power projects and power import from India.
Currently, India is supplying 1000-MW of electricity at a rate of Tk 5.54 a unit (minimum Tk 4.85 and maximum Tk 7.70).
"We are observing the issue. We have engaged an independent consultant here to look into it," Bangladesh Power Development Chairman Khaled Mahmood told the Daily Observer on Tuesday.
"We moved to import electricity from Nepal considering low tariff structure of hydropower", a senior official of the Power division said, adding that Bangladesh produces hydropower in Kaptai at a cost of around Tk 1 per unit.
Bangladesh has planned to import 9,000-MW of electricity from Nepal over the next 10 years.
For bringing the power from Nepal, Bangladesh needs to use some corridors from India. Following a huge diplomatic effort in March 2018, India relaxed its energy trading provisions by allowing public and private entities in Nepal to develop-operate and maintain a dedicated transmission system from Nepal to the pooling station in India for power trade with India or Bangladesh.
Earlier, India had allowed only state-owned hydropower projects or companies with a minimum 51 percent Indian stake to trade power with India or other countries using its transmission lines.
"When everything was in right shape than we got a list of tariff,  ex-bus tariff, transmission charge in Nepal, Indo-Nepal injection loss, transmission charge in India, Bangladesh withdrawal loss and NVVN trade margin have affected the tariff proposed by the Indian firm," a Power Division official said.
The double transmission charge in addition to the NVVN 1.5 per cent trade margin might increase the tariff, the official added.
"We have raised some major questions on tariff variables and requested to address it in revised proposals," said a PDB official.