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Agartala, May 29: Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) has reduced power supply to Bangladesh due to rising unpaid bills.
Bangladesh was supposed to get 160 megawatts of power from Tripura as per the revised trade agreement signed between TSECL and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB); however, right now, Tripura is sending power ranging from 90 to 110 megawatts as the total outstanding that Bangladesh is supposed to pay exceeds Rs 150 crore.
Speaking on the issue, Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath said, “We haven't stopped the power trading with Bangladesh. We do have some problems, but power generation hasn't hit that low that we would have to back out of the agreement. From the Rukhia power plant, we are getting 100 percent power; from Baramura, we get 75 percent of its optimum capacity; from Gomati, we get 100 percent; from the Manarchak plant, we get 100 percent; but from Palatana, we only get 27 percent. So, there is no problem as such regarding power generation. For now, we are supplying 90 megawatts to Bangladesh. If our power plants fail to generate enough power, then we might have to back out of the power trading agreement.”
Sharing further insights into the matter, Managing Director TSECL Debasish Sarkar said, “We can't sell power to Bangladesh directly. It is done through NVVN, the trading wing of NTPC. We raise the bill before NVVN, and that agency sends the bill to Bangladesh. We have more than Rs 150 crore outstanding with Bangladesh. We have been regularly monitoring the issue and raising queries with NVVN to clear the outstanding amount. We have heard that Bangladesh has been facing some financial issues, which is why they are unable to pay the bills on time. Since this is an international trade, we are continuing with that.”
On the restriction, he said, “In peak periods, particularly in the summer season, we have to purchase power from the exchange at a hefty cost of Rs 10 to 12 per unit to cope with the rising domestic demands. If we don't get money, it would never be wise to supply power, as the cash flow of the corporation gets badly impacted. This is why we have reduced the power supply to a limit so that our local consumption doesn't get impacted heavily.”
