Tariff revised for Ashuganj's 450 MW power plant

The approval was given at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase held at the Secretariat on Wednesday, with Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair.

According to officials, the power plant, owned by Ashuganj Power Station Company Limited (APSCL), was established with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). The plant commenced commercial operations in 2017 and has been supplying electricity to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

Under the revised arrangement, the levelised tariff has been reduced from Tk 5.04 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to Tk 5.03 per kWh. The proposal was approved in line with a decision of the BPDB Board of Directors, aimed at enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability in the power sector.

Officials said the revised tariff will enable BPDB to save approximately Tk 251.7 million annually. Over the remaining 16 years, 10 months and 10 days of the power purchase agreement, BPDB is expected to pay a total of Tk 226.1812 billion for electricity generated by the gas-fired power plant.

The meeting comes as the BNP remains in a wait-and-see position regarding the stance of opposition parties on the constitutional amendment process.