Tripura to sell power to Bangladesh till 2026

AGARTALA: The ministry of power renewed its power sale agreement with its Bangladesh counterparts last week in Dhaka to supply maximum 192 MW from Tripura for another five years, deputy chief minister, holding the power portfolio, Jishnu Dev Varma, told TOI here on Sunday.
Tripura is one of the few power surplus states in the country and according to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries in January 2010, the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL) had been supplying 160 MW power daily to Bangladesh till March this year.
However, the power supply to Bangladesh was stopped since April this year because neither country could hold any meeting due to surge in Covid cases and restrictions on international travel, Dev Varma said. He added that officials of People's Republic of Bangladesh signed a tripartite supplementary agreement in Dhaka on December 2 to continue the trade at a mutually agreed price and procedure.
The initial agreement was signed among NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) on behalf of te ministry of power, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and TSECL as supplier for a quantum of 100 MW of power in March 2016 which was subsequently extended to 160 MW.
In the 19th Joint Working Group and Joint Steering Committee meetings on Indo-Bangladesh Co-operation in the power sector between Bangladesh and India held on January 23 this year at Dhaka, it was decided that the contract will be extended on a mutually agreed tariff plan, terms and conditions, tenure and quantum of power. But it took almost nine months to finalise the deal due to Covid pandemic, Dev Varma said.