March 6: The Government of Bangladesh has agreed to import 40 MW of electricity from Nepal. The concerned authorities of the two countries will sign an agreement to this effect next month.

Minister of State for Energy and Minerals of Bangladesh, Nasrul Hamid, reportedly said that Bangladesh is preparing to import 9,000 megawatts of electricity from neighboring countries and said that there is a possibility of an agreement to import 40 megawatts from Nepal next month.

According to the Bangladeshi media, Hamid said that Bangladesh and India will work together for the development of the energy sector. During a meeting with Pranay Berma of the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh, the Indian side responded positively regarding the process of importing electricity from Nepal, said Hamid.

“Good progress has been made in the process of bringing hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan.”

He said that it is almost certain to import 500 megawatts of electricity from Nepal through the Indian company GMR and work is also underway to import renewable energy. Hamid said that if there is a dedicated line from Nepal to Bangladesh, electricity trade will accelerate and it will also benefit India.

Two weeks ago, a team of Nepal Electricity Authority reached Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, for the electricity trade agreement between the two countries. The authority's team said that although the electricity sales negotiations with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) have progressed positively, the price has not been finalized. The NEA said that another agreement would be reached soon to finalize the price and the purchase and sale of electricity.

Semant Dahal, a lawyer who reached Dhaka for discussions with the NEA team, said the final agreement will be signed next month to export 40 megawatts of electricity from upcoming June.

The authority has sent a proposal to Bangladesh to export up to 40 megawatts of electricity for the six months of the rainy season from June 15 to November 15 every year.

Nepal will export electricity to Bangladesh via India's Baharampur-Bheramara and Dhalkewar-Muzaffarpur transmission lines under a five year contract.