Bangladesh is ready to buy Nepal’s electricity. Bangladesh is to purchase 500 Mw
of electricity worth Rs. 5 billion, which is being wasted by Nepal, from next year
2078/79. During a meeting with a delegation of the Confederation of Nepalese
Industries, which is currently on a visit to Bangladesh, Minister of State for Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh Nasrul Hamid said that the
electricity generated in Nepal will be procured from next year.
On the occasion, Minister of State Hamid said that in the coming years, long-term
power purchase agreement (PPA) will be signed with the private sector of Nepal.
At present, about 500 MW of electricity was wasted in the rainy season alone due
to lack of market management in Nepal and it has caused a loss of around Rs 5
billion.
Electricity generated in Nepal is being wasted due to lack of adequate
transmission lines and internal and external markets. Minister of State Hamid said
that the transmission line would be strengthened for the import of electricity
from Nepal and construction of dedicated line would also be started. Minister of
State Nasrul has said that by 2026, 3500MW of electricity generated in Nepal will
be purchased.
He expressed his commitment to discuss the issue with Nepal’s private sector
from January 2022 and to complete the work by March 2022. He told the
Bangladesh Energy Development Board that he would start the homework of
signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) directly with the 16,000 MW capacity
hydropower project in Nepal that has obtained survey permission.
The door to trilateral electricity trade has opened since India issued the Interstate
Energy Trade Procedure in March 2021. This procedure puts an end to the
dilemma of regulation and legal mechanism in international electricity trade.
Although India is a potential market for Nepal’s electricity, the private sector has
become optimistic about inter-country electricity trade with Bangladesh’s
commitment.
Bangladesh needs 24,000 MW of renewable energy by 2040 and plans to shut
down coal-fired power generation in the next four years. Electricity generated in
Nepal is half as cheap for Bangladesh as it is now. This also means that
Bangladesh wants to buy electricity from Nepal.
