Agartala, Aug 12 (IANS) Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) has earned revenue of Rs 1,165.37 crore in the past ten years by supplying electricity to neighbouring Bangladesh, state Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath said here on Wednesday.
The Minister said that TSECL is currently supplying electricity to Bangladesh at Rs 6.76 per unit, compared to the initial rate of Rs 5.50 per unit when the cross-border power supply began.
“Tripura started supplying 100 MW of power to Bangladesh from the state-owned ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) power plant in southern Tripura in March 2016. The power supply was subsequently increased at times to 192 MW,” Nath told IANS.
He said that on August 9, TSECL supplied 200 MW of electricity to the neighbouring country.
Tripura, which shares an 856-km international border with Bangladesh and is surrounded by the neighbouring country on three sides, is strategically located for cross-border trade, connectivity and economic activities.
The Minister said that following the signing of the first agreement in 2016, TSECL, with the consent and support of the Central government, subsequently renewed the agreement twice to continue supplying electricity to Bangladesh.
He said that the Bangladesh government has recently requested TSECL to increase the supply to at least 250 MW as the neighbouring country is facing a significant shortage of electricity to meet the growing demand of consumers.
“Discussions are going on. However, to increase the supply of electricity, permission and clearances from the Central government are vital. This would require the signing of an agreement and completion of other necessary formalities,” the Minister said.
Nath pointed out that Tripura’s power generation capacity is expected to increase substantially in the near future following the commissioning of proposed and under-construction power plants, coupled with a rapid expansion of electricity generation from the solar sector.
A senior TSECL official said that in 2020, the company had also supplied 40 MW of electricity to Nepal. However, the supply was subsequently discontinued as Nepal did not approach the Indian authorities afresh for continuation of the power supply.
The official said that electricity is being supplied to Bangladesh and most of the Northeastern states from the 726-MW generation capacity OTPC gas-based power plant at Palatana in southern Tripura, around 65 km south of Agartala.
The OTPC is a joint venture between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), IDFC Bank and the Tripura government.
The company set up the 726-MW power project at Palatana in June 2013. The OTPC’s combined-cycle power plant, one of the largest gas-based power plants in the Northeast, is meeting around 35 per cent of the power requirement of seven Northeastern states, excluding Sikkim, the official claimed.
The Rs 10,000-crore Palatana power plant is also considered a unique example of cooperation between New Delhi and Dhaka. The project became possible after Bangladesh facilitated the transportation of heavy equipment, including turbines and other machinery, through its territory to Palatana in southern Tripura.
The movement of the heavy project equipment through Bangladesh provided a crucial logistical link for the construction of the power plant, highlighting the importance of India-Bangladesh cooperation in strengthening connectivity and energy ties in the Northeast.
The Palatana project has since played an important role in meeting Tripura’s electricity requirements while also enabling the state to supply power to neighbouring countries and other states in the region.
(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujitchakrabortyne@gmail.com)
–IANS
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