UNB, Dhaka
The price of 100 MW of electricity that Bangladesh formally starts importing from Tripura’s gas-fired Palatana power plant on Wednesday will relatively be higher than the existing tariff of power being imported from India.
“The gas price in India is relatively high. That’s’ why the cost of the power of Tripura plant has been higher,” said State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid while briefing reporters on the 100 MW power import from Tripura’s Palatana plant.
The junior minister came up with the remarks against the backdrop of a debate over the higher tariff fixed for the 100 MW power to be imported from Tripura for which Bangladesh extended enormous support allowing tax-free transportation of equipment and constructing roads blocking the Titas River.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarker will simultaneously launch the cross border power trading on Wednesday through videoconferencing from their respective offices. Bangladesh will be importing the 100 MW power from the Tripura plant at a rate of Rs. 5.50 per unit (each kilowatt hour) for the next five years with a term of ‘no electricity, no payment’.