A meeting of the ‘Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase’ in Bangladesh on Tuesday approved a proposal to import 40 megawatts of electricity from Nepal. The proposal was put forth by the Power Division of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).

It was one of the 15 proposals endorsed by the Cabinet Committee chaired by Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali of Bangladesh, according to the National News Agency of Bangladesh.

Secretary of the Cabinet Division (Coordination and Reform) Md Mahmudul Hossain Khan of Bangladesh told reporters that following a proposal from the Power Division, the BPDP would import 40MW hydroelectricity for five years from Nepal under a tripartite agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) India, and the BPDB, the report said.

Bangladeshi media reports said the power will be traded at 8.17 Bangladeshi Taka, (about Rs9.30) per unit.

The delivery point will be a 400kV substation at Muzaffarpur in India, and Bangladesh will pay the transmission charge for using the Indian transmission infrastructure.

The date of final agreement between Nepal and Bangladesh on the matter has yet to be finalised. However, it will most likely take place during Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s potential Nepal visit, according to Khan.

Nepal and Bangladesh had agreed to sign a tripartite agreement involving the NEA, the BPDP and the NVVN during the meeting of the energy secretary-level joint steering committee in May 2023.

Earlier in February, Bangladesh had sent a draft request for proposal (RfP) in response to which Nepal had proposed the tariff. Besides tariff, Nepal had also included details on how Nepal would deliver power to Bangladesh.

The two countries agreed on the trading amount on the sidelines of the SAARC Energy Centre’s secretary-level meeting held in Singapore from February 23 to 26, 2024.