Bangladesh is expected to start receiving 750 megawatts of electricity from Adani Jharkhand Power, Godda in India in March this year.
“Commercial power will be available at mid-March from unit-1 of Adani Jharkhand Power, Godda, as well as another 700MW in June,” State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid said during while visiting the plant.
A Bangladesh delegation led by Nasrul Hamid is currently visiting India.
“We are currently receiving 250MW of electricity during the synchronization stage,” he explained, adding that transmission lines are expected to get power from dedicated lines in the future.
He said due to the hike in international coal tariffs, power from the plant would cost $14-17 cents per kilowatt hour.
However, the tariff may decrease once the coal price falls on the international market, Nasrul said.
Due to international volatile coal market prices, the per unit tariff for electricity produced from Pyara power plant at Tk 16 is the same as that for Jharkhand power imports, he noted.
He also justified the costly power import from Jharkhand power plant, stating, “We haven’t considered the transmission line between Pyara and Aminbazar. If we consider the Jharkhand dedicated line, the power tariff will be the same.”
To supply such power into a single basket, the government will also need at least 1000 acres of land and $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
Nasrul said the government is also considering importing 1000MW of renewable energy from the dedicated grid line, if it can get a price advantage from it.
Adani Power managing director Anil Sardana commented on recent media reports about taking payment for capacity without supplying power to Bangladesh. He explained that Adani will not receive any bill without supplying power.
It is the first Ultra Super Critical power plant in India with all of the formalities required by the World Bank, he noted. He added that as a result of a hike in international coal tariffs, power tariff from the plant is now higher. Besides Australia, the company also seeks coal from Indonesia and South Africa, he said.
“Local coal is not permitted to export electricity to other countries, so we import coal instead,” he said.
According to Nasrul Hamid, Bangladesh’s power and energy ministers will meet with their Indian counterparts today (Wednesday) to boost cooperation in the power and energy sector.
Dedicated electricity lines with Nepal, Bhutan, and Asam in India as well as affordable fuel supply will be discussed, he said.
Bangladesh will receive diesel from Numaligar this month, he added.
Among the Bangladesh delegation are Md Habibur Rahman, secretary of the power division, and Md Mahbubur Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
[source: Daily Sun]
