India to start power supply to Bangladesh from today

Transmission line will link India's eastern power grid with the western electricity grid of Bangladesh

Marking a key step in bilateral co-operation, India will start supplying electricity to Bangladesh from Saturday through the new transmission line between the two nations.      

“Electricity will begin tomorrow to flow from India to Bangladesh through a new transmission line, marking South Asia’s first-ever high voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnection between two countries,” the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which had partly financed the project, said on Friday.

Early last year, NTPC’s Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had inked an electricity purchase pact.   

The transmission line would link India’s eastern power grid with the western electricity grid of Bangladesh. “Testing of the sub-station installations has been ongoing since early September but the interconnection will be in operation starting October 5," ADB said.

The multilateral lender said from the trading arm of NTPC would commence supply to the BPDB under a government-to-government contract. "This will be increased to 250 Mw in November 2013, and a further 250 Mw will be added by the end of 2013. The project could eventually be scaled up to allow 1,000 Mw of power flows,” ADB said.

This arrangement would help Bangladesh to purchase power from India at cheaper rates than buying from rental plants in that country. The interconnection on the Bangladesh end comprises 500 Mw High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) substation at Bheramara, about 27 kilometers in 400 kilovolt transmission lines, from Bheramara to the Indian border and a link to the Bangladesh electricity grid.      

ADB partly financed the $199 million interconnection facilities in Bangladesh with a $112 million loan. State-owned transmission utility, the Power Grid Corp, built and financed the infrastructure on India’s side. Director General of ADB’s South Asia department,  Juan Miranda, said,“The groundbreaking link will help provide the urgently-needed power to Bangladesh.” Miranda noted that the link would be a key milestone for South Asia, as it looks to set up a regional energy market making best use of the region’s diverse and unevenly distributed energy resources.   

More cross-border energy links are currently being considered in South Asia, including on Bangladesh's eastern borders.