No transit without power access Says Dhaka
Bangladesh is seeking a broader regional electricity-sharing arrangement with India, Nepal and Bhutan instead of allowing its territory to be used simply as a bilateral power transmission corridor for India.
The issue has gained renewed importance as India seeks to advance a proposed 765kV high-voltage transmission line from Barnagar in Assam to Katihar in Bihar through Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is considering the proposal but wants the project to be linked to a wider regional grid that would enable Dhaka to import electricity from Nepal and Bhutan, particularly cheaper hydropower.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi raised the proposed transmission line during a meeting with Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud on August 6.
“We are not considering the matter in the way India wants to take the grid line through Bangladesh.
Dhaka is considering a joint grid line involving Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan,” Mahmud told the media after the meeting.
The proposed Barnagar-Parbatipur-Katihar connection has been discussed for years and is envisaged as a major high-capacity link for regional electricity trade. Existing regional planning documents identify it as a planned 765kV cross-border interconnection.
Government sources said Dhaka is considering four key conditions before giving the transmission project the green light.
First, Bangladesh wants India to clarify whether electricity generated from any proposed dam on the Brahmaputra would be transmitted through the line.
Dhaka is concerned about the possible implications of upstream water diversion for Bangladesh, particularly in the northern region during the dry season.
Second, Bangladesh wants the opportunity to establish a separate transmission connection through which it could import cheaper hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan.
Third, Dhaka wants a clear commitment on how much electricity Bangladesh would be able to import through the proposed interconnection.
Fourth, Bangladesh wants a detailed assessment of the project’s economic costs and benefits before allowing the transmission infrastructure to pass through its territory.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Power Division have prepared documents examining the proposal, government sources said.
The position marks a shift from viewing the transmission line simply as an Indian connectivity project towards treating it as part of a broader regional electricity market.
Prof M Tamim, vice-chancellor of Bangladesh Independent University and an energy expert, said a regional grid involving India, Nepal and Bhutan would be important for Bangladesh’s energy security.
“Bangladesh can import electricity from whichever country can supply it at a lower cost,” he told a media.
The debate over regional connectivity comes as Bangladesh is facing one of its most severe electricity supply pressures in recent years.
Acute shortages of natural gas, along with inadequate supplies of coal and liquid fuels, technical problems at major power plants and scheduled maintenance, have sharply reduced available generation.
According to Bangladesh Power Development Board and Power Grid Bangladesh data, electricity production was disrupted at 62 of the country’s 137 power plants on Thursday.
Twenty plants were completely shut down, while 42 were operating at reduced capacity. Daytime load-shedding peaked at 3,664MW.
Power Grid data showed that at 3pm on Thursday, national demand stood at 16,946MW while supply was only 13,282MW, producing a 3,664MW load-shedding requirement.
The shortage remained above 2,000MW at several points during the day and evening.
The situation has left households and businesses facing repeated power cuts, while many industries are struggling to maintain production because of shortages of both electricity and gas.
Friday’s Power Grid forecast suggested that the pressure would continue, with load-shedding projected to rise sharply during the evening as demand increased. The system was forecast to face a shortage of more than 2,600MW late at night.
The crisis is not confined to electricity generation. Gas shortages have also affected industries and gas-dependent consumers, while disruptions in LNG supplies have reduced the availability of fuel for gas-fired power plants.
Earlier this month, a floating LNG terminal at Moheshkhali resumed partial operations after an outage, with the government saying gas supplies would gradually improve.
The electricity and gas shortages are increasingly affecting factories and mills, where production depends on uninterrupted energy supplies.
Power cuts outside the traditional evening peak have become a major problem, affecting households, businesses and industrial production.
A recent assessment found that prolonged outages had spread across the country as gas shortages reduced the output of generating plants.
The government has therefore been seeking additional energy supplies from neighbouring countries while trying to restore domestic gas availability and stabilise electricity generation.
During his August 6 meeting with the Indian high commissioner, Minister Mahmud also requested increased diesel supplies from India through the existing India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, as Bangladesh sought to compensate for shortages of domestic gas and support power generation.
For Bangladesh, the proposed transmission line therefore has a significance beyond the immediate question of allowing India to transmit electricity through its territory.
Dhaka’s argument is that if Bangladesh provides strategic territory for a high-capacity regional transmission system, it should also gain access to the wider regional electricity market.
A joint Bangladesh-India-Nepal-Bhutan grid could potentially allow Bangladesh to purchase electricity according to price and availability rather than depending predominantly on one source.
Such a system could also make greater use of Nepal and Bhutan’s hydropower potential while providing India with additional transmission capacity between its northeastern and eastern regions.
Against this backdrop, Dhaka sees the proposed 765kV line as a potential opportunity to strengthen its own energy security, provided the project delivers reciprocal benefits.
