Bangladesh sent a letter requesting the postponement of the agreement due to the difficult situation created by the student protests.
Kathmandu — The tripartite agreement for Nepal to sell 40 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh has been postponed for now. The agreement was delayed due to intensified protests in Bangladesh against special reservations in government services. The agreement between Nepal, India, and Bangladesh was scheduled to be signed on July 28.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Naveen Raj Singh, stated that Bangladesh had sent a letter requesting to postpone the date of the agreement. “They have said they will confirm a new date and inform us,” he said. Previously, Nepal’s Energy Minister Deepak Khadka, India’s Power Minister Manohar Lal, and Bangladesh’s State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul.
It was stated that the electricity purchase and sale agreement would be signed in the presence of Hamid. Immediately afterward, a joint secretary-level and secretary-level meeting between Nepal and Bangladesh was also scheduled to take place in Pokhara.
Nationwide protests have erupted against the provision of special reservations in government services for the children and relatives of those who participated in the 1971 independence movement. More than 150 people have died in violent clashes during the protests. Although the Supreme Court there annulled the law related to special reservations on Tuesday, the situation has not yet returned to normal.
Each year, a total of 144,000 megawatt-hours of electricity will be exported over the five-month period. The Authority will receive 6.40 US cents per unit (approximately 8.55 Nepalese rupees, according to Wednesday’s exchange rate) for selling electricity to Bangladesh. The Authority has stated that it will earn 9.216 million US dollars (1.23 billion Nepalese rupees, according to Wednesday’s exchange rate) over the five months.
The Authority will receive the value of the electricity exported to Bangladesh through the first international Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 kV transmission line between Nepal and India at the Muzaffarpur point in India.
In other words, the metering of the electricity exported to Bangladesh will be done at Muzaffarpur. The Authority will bear the technical losses of the transmission line from Dhalkebar to Muzaffarpur. From Muzaffarpur, the electricity will travel to Bangladesh via the 400 kV transmission line through Beharampur (India) and Bhedamara (Bangladesh).
The Authority is preparing to export electricity produced from the 25-megawatt Trishuli project, built with Indian grant assistance and owned by the Authority, and the 22-megawatt Chilime Hydroelectric Project, constructed through a subsidiary company, to Bangladesh. Both of these projects have already received approval for electricity export to India.
On January 1, 2024, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) issued a tender for the purchase of 40 megawatts of electricity produced in Nepal for five years, according to the tripartite agreement between Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. The Authority submitted tender documents with the rate for the electricity to be sold, following the prescribed format, in the second week of Magh (January). Subsequently, on February 22, a meeting was held in Dhaka between the Authority’s team and the BPDB’s bid evaluation committee.
Nepal had proposed a price of 6.70 US cents per unit for the electricity. Since Nepal insisted on not providing the electricity at a lower price than what it sells to India, an agreement on the price could not be reached during the meeting. However, later, during a bilateral discussion at the SAARC energy secretaries’ meeting organized by the World Bank in Singapore, Bangladesh agreed to purchase the electricity at a slightly reduced rate of 6.40 US cents per unit, as proposed by Nepal. Although an agreement on the price was reached, the price for electricity imported from Nepal was only approved by Bangladesh’s Cabinet Committee on Government Purchases (CCGP) on June 12.
After evaluating the submitted tender documents and receiving approval from the relevant authorities, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) informed the Authority on July 7 of its intention to accept the tender. The Authority also sent a written notice to BPDB confirming the acceptance of the tender. Subsequently, BPDB sent a draft of the electricity sale agreement to the Authority. Upon receiving the draft, the Authority set a date for the agreement and sent an invitation to BPDB on July 9.
On December 5, the Economic Affairs Committee of Bangladesh’s Cabinet granted a provisional approval for importing 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal. Accordingly, Bangladesh sent a letter to Nepal prioritizing the price and requesting a proposal for the sale. The Authority submitted the sales proposal in the second week of Magh (January).
Source: Kantipur
