UNB, Dhaka :
State-owned Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited (PGCB) and the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) will conduct a joint feasibility study to facilitate Bangladesh’s import of 100 MW electricity from gas-fired Palatana power plant in India’s Tripura state.
According to official sources, a PGCB-PGCIL joint team will carry out the study within the next three months to outline the necessary arrangements for Bangladesh’s power import from the Indian north-eastern region.
As per commitment of both the Bangladesh and Indian governments, a joint steering committee on power sector development took the decision it its meeting last week in Dhaka.
Both sides agreed on power trade between the two neighbours in addition to their existing trade of 500 MW of electricity from Indian eastern grid near Bheramara border.
Officials at the Power Ministry here said the new proposal will require installation of about 32-35-km long new transmission lines, including 12 km on Bangladesh side and 20-23 km on India side.
As per a preliminary assessment, they said, power from Palatana will come to Comilla to get connect with Bangladesh’s national grid. At present, Bangladesh has a power substation at the border point under Comilla-North power supply system.
“But the existing substation will require to be upgraded to off-take Palatana’s power from Indian grid system” said a top official at the Power Ministry requesting anonymity.
He said lots of technical works need to be done to synchronise Indian power system with the Bangladesh one.
The PGCB-PGCIL team will soon start their joint study to identify the technical nitty-gritty of the systems on both sides.
Then necessary steps will be taken based on the team’s recommendations to expedite Bangladesh’s import of 100 MW of electricity from Palatana power plant.
The officials, however, said India’s 100 MW of electricity may not be connected with the main power system at the country’s eastern district of Comilla as this area is considered to be very sensitive from security point of view as the country’s one of the largest cantonment is located there.
They said there might be a separate system to consume Indian 100 MW power in non-sensitive areas.
According to them, the tariff of the electricity that will come from Tripura is yet to be determined.
They hoped that it will be cheaper than that of the 500 MW being imported from Indian eastern grid as the production cost of Palatana plant is much lower because of its gas-burnt electricity.
