Adani keeps grip as costliest import
Indian utility Adani Power (Jharkhand) Limited remained Bangladesh’s most expensive source of imported electricity in the 2024-25 fiscal year, with its tariff significantly exceeding those charged by other cross-border suppliers.
An analysis of the Power Division’s financial statements and the Bangladesh Power Development Board’s (BPDB) annual report shows that electricity imported from Adani cost nearly 59 per cent more than the combined weighted-average tariff of the country’s three other Indian suppliers.
Bangladesh currently imports electricity from four Indian companies under separate agreements: Adani Power, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), Sembcorp Energy India Ltd, and Power Trading Corporation of India Ltd (PTC India).
According to the analysis, BPDB paid an average of Tk14.86 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for electricity imported from Adani in FY25, while the combined weighted-average tariff for the other three suppliers stood at Tk9.33 per unit.
The difference was even more pronounced when compared individually.
Adani’s average tariff was nearly 96 per cent higher than NVVN’s weighted-average cost of Tk7.58 per unit, around 46 per cent higher than PTC India’s Tk10.20 per unit, and about 45 per cent above Sembcorp’s Tk10.22 per unit.
Compared with electricity imported from Nepal at Tk8.35 per unit, Adani’s tariff was nearly 78 per cent higher.
Overall power purchase cost rises
During FY25, BPDB purchased 101,187.17 million kWh of electricity from domestic and imported sources at a total cost of Tk121,420.16 crore.
The average cost of electricity purchased by the utility increased to Tk12.10 per unit in FY25 from Tk11.35 per unit a year earlier, reflecting an increase of Tk0.75 per unit.
Bangladesh currently has agreements to import 2,656MW of electricity from India and 40MW from Nepal.
Adani imports remain largely unchanged
In FY25, Bangladesh imported 8,030 million kWh of electricity from Adani’s Jharkhand power plant, paying Tk11,933.44 crore at an average tariff of Tk14.86 per unit.
In the previous fiscal year, imports stood at 8,170 million kWh, costing Tk12,146.96 crore, with the average tariff remaining almost unchanged at Tk14.87 per unit.
NVVN remains the cheapest supplier
Bangladesh imports electricity from NVVN through three separate cross-border corridors.
In FY25, the 250MW corridor supplied 1,840 million kWh at Tk4.42 per unit, making it the least expensive among all import routes.
The 160MW Tripura corridor supplied 477.67 million kWh at Tk10.64 per unit, while the 300MW corridor delivered 2,520 million kWh at Tk8.46 per unit.
In FY24, the corresponding tariffs were Tk4.18, Tk9.17, and Tk8.08 per unit, respectively.
Overall, Bangladesh imported 4,840 million kWh from NVVN in FY25 at a cost of Tk3,457.82 crore, resulting in a weighted-average tariff of Tk7.14 per unit, compared with Tk6.86 per unit in FY24, an increase of 4.12 per cent.
After adding Tk211.71 crore in transmission (wheeling) charges, which Bangladesh pays separately to India’s grid operator, the effective average cost rose to Tk7.58 per unit.
Even after including wheeling charges, the Tripura corridor remained NVVN’s most expensive route at Tk10.64 per unit.
PTC India and Sembcorp tariffs
Bangladesh imported 1,620 million kWh from PTC India in FY25, paying Tk1,651.32 crore, resulting in an average tariff of Tk10.20 per unit, up from Tk9.29 per unit in FY24, an increase of 9.8 per cent.
Transmission charges are included under the PTC agreement.
Meanwhile, Sembcorp Energy India Ltd supplied 1,920 million kWh during FY25, earning Tk1,957.56 crore. Its average tariff declined slightly to Tk10.22 per unit from Tk10.43 per unit a year earlier, marking a 2 per cent decrease.
Unlike NVVN, Sembcorp’s power purchase agreement already includes wheeling charges.
Nepal hydropower imports begin
Bangladesh started importing hydropower from the Nepal Electricity Authority in 2025.
During FY25, the country imported 15.83 million kWh of electricity from Nepal at a cost of Tk132.25 million, resulting in an average tariff of Tk8.35 per unit.
Transmission charges decline
Bangladesh pays separate transmission, or wheeling, charges to India’s grid corporation for electricity imported through the NVVN corridors.
In FY25, India’s grid operator transmitted 4,840 million kWh of electricity and charged Tk211.71 crore, down from Tk270.45 crore for 5,130 million kWh in FY24.
As a result, the average transmission cost fell 17.08 per cent to Tk0.437 per kWh from Tk0.527 per kWh, while total transmission payments declined 21.72 per cent, despite electricity imports through the NVVN corridors falling by only 5.6 per cent.
Among the three routes, the 250MW corridor recorded a 3.8 per cent increase in per-unit transmission costs.
The 160MW Tripura corridor experienced a sharp rise in transmission costs per unit as imported volumes declined significantly.
The 300MW corridor recorded the largest improvement, with transmission costs per unit falling 59.2 per cent.
