Govt forms panels on importing power from Nepal

The Bangladesh government has formed a steering committee and a working group over importing hydro-electricity from Nepal.
In a letter sent to concerned government offices on Aug 28, the Power Division said that an eight-strong steering committee headed by the Power Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus has been formed to speed up the process.
The panel consists of PMO director general-2, joint secretary and additional secretary for development wing of the power division, Bangladesh Power Development Board chairman, Power Grid Company of Bangladesh managing director, Power Cell director general and an official from the ministry of foreign affairs.
The six-strong working group is headed by the joint secretary to the development wing of the Power Division.
On Aug 10, Dhaka signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kathmandu over importing hydro-electricity.
Apart from the import of power from Nepal through India, the MoU includes investments by Bangladesh in Nepal’s power sector.
According to Bangladesh’s master-plan, a part of the goal to supply 40,000MW power by 2030 will come from imported power.
Nepal has the prospects of producing 40,000MW of hydropower and Bangladesh’s state-run and private companies can invest in future projects in the Himalayan country, said State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid told the media in Kathmandu after signing the MoU.
Hydropower is comparatively cheap and environment-friendly. The Awami League government has been working to increase hydropower cooperation with Nepal and Bhutan.
Bangladesh signed an MoU with an Indian company last year to import 500 MW power from Nepal. GMR Energy in India has started a project to produce 900MW of hydropower. The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has signed an MoU with GMR Energy to buy electricity from the project through a cross-country grid via India.
Bangladesh has been importing 500MW of electricity from India’s Bahrampur and 150MW from Tripura. The government plans to import more power from India in future.