bdnews24.com :
A draft deal has been finalised to set up grid connectivity for power trade among the seven member countries of BIMSTEC.
The BIMSTEC members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
“After years of negotiation, BIMSTEC nations have finalised the draft of the deal,” said Anwar Hossain, joint secretary of the power division.
“This initiative will ensure energy security for the whole region because it will enable member nations to share their surplus electricity with each other,” Hossain said.
Senior power department officials of member nations finalised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 5th meeting of the BIMSTEC Task Force on Trans Power Exchange.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation set up in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
Bangladesh will greatly benefit once the MoU implemented, Hossain added.
The draft will now be placed at the forthcoming BIMSTEC Energy Secretaries’ Conference and finally at the Third Energy Ministers’ Meeting in Kathmandu sometime this year for signing, according to foreign ministry officials.
Bangladesh has already set up cross border electricity grid with India for importing 500 MW power.
It is currently seeking import of around 3,500 MW of additional electricity through bilateral and sub-regional joint ventures from India, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan by 2030.
Officials said power import would serve as one of the main option for meeting the country’s energy needs.
Elaborating on the MoU, they said this would provide a broad framework for the implementation of grid interconnections to promoting balanced power transmission in the region.
Based on the principles of mutual-cooperation and sustainable development, the member states aspire to build interconnections for reliable, secure and economic electricity supply in the region under the MoU.
The BIMSTEC deal is quite akin to the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation signed in Kathmandu in November last year to set up a South Asian regional grid for cross-border power trade.
Many anticipate that the BIMSTEC move would push forward the SAARC deal as well.
According to the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka , the seven member nations have a combined hydropower potential of 260,000 MW-150,000 MW in India, 40,000 MW in Myanmar, 30,000 MW in Bhutan and Nepal each, 500 MW in Bangladesh and Thailand each and 1,000 MW in Sri Lanka.
The Myanmar delegation agreed to the draft deal on principle but insisted they have yet to complete some internal restructuring.
A draft deal has been finalised to set up grid connectivity for power trade among the seven member countries of BIMSTEC.
The BIMSTEC members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
“After years of negotiation, BIMSTEC nations have finalised the draft of the deal,” said Anwar Hossain, joint secretary of the power division.
“This initiative will ensure energy security for the whole region because it will enable member nations to share their surplus electricity with each other,” Hossain said.
Senior power department officials of member nations finalised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the 5th meeting of the BIMSTEC Task Force on Trans Power Exchange.
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation set up in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
Bangladesh will greatly benefit once the MoU implemented, Hossain added.
The draft will now be placed at the forthcoming BIMSTEC Energy Secretaries’ Conference and finally at the Third Energy Ministers’ Meeting in Kathmandu sometime this year for signing, according to foreign ministry officials.
Bangladesh has already set up cross border electricity grid with India for importing 500 MW power.
It is currently seeking import of around 3,500 MW of additional electricity through bilateral and sub-regional joint ventures from India, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan by 2030.
Officials said power import would serve as one of the main option for meeting the country’s energy needs.
Elaborating on the MoU, they said this would provide a broad framework for the implementation of grid interconnections to promoting balanced power transmission in the region.
Based on the principles of mutual-cooperation and sustainable development, the member states aspire to build interconnections for reliable, secure and economic electricity supply in the region under the MoU.
The BIMSTEC deal is quite akin to the SAARC Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation signed in Kathmandu in November last year to set up a South Asian regional grid for cross-border power trade.
Many anticipate that the BIMSTEC move would push forward the SAARC deal as well.
According to the BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka , the seven member nations have a combined hydropower potential of 260,000 MW-150,000 MW in India, 40,000 MW in Myanmar, 30,000 MW in Bhutan and Nepal each, 500 MW in Bangladesh and Thailand each and 1,000 MW in Sri Lanka.
The Myanmar delegation agreed to the draft deal on principle but insisted they have yet to complete some internal restructuring.
