AGARTALA, March 24 (TIWN): "Tripura is ready to supply at least 100 MW of power to Bangladesh if the central government allows the state government to proceed with power supply" Power minister Manik Dey said to media persons. Tripura is keen to supply at least 100 MW of electricity to energy-starved Bangladesh as the northeast Indian state will be power surplus by December 2015, he mentioned. "Bangladesh badly needs electricity for domestic, industrial and irrigation purposes. We must cooperate with Bangladesh, because it is our best friendly neighbor," he further mentioned. Earlier, Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka Sandeep Chakraborty said that “Several steps were taken about the Indian government’s commitment of supplying 100 MW of power to Bangladesh from southern Tripura’s Palatana power plant.” Sandeep Chakraborty further said that “The Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) would erect a transmission line from western Tripura’s Surjyamaninagar power grid to Comilla (in eastern Bangladesh) power grid to supply the power.”

He said that supplying power from Tripura to Bangladesh will be similar to the system between West Bengal’s Baharampur and Bheramara in Bangladesh.

India had commenced supply of 250 MW of power to Bangladesh last year after the government-run Bangladesh Power Development Board and India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN), a subsidiary of India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), signed a deal Feb 28, 2012 to supply 250 MW of electricity, following an agreement signed during Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in January 2010.

To provide power to Bangladesh, 400 kV switching station has been set up at Baharampur in West Bengal. The cross-border inter-connection has been established between Baharampur (India) and Bheramara (Bangladesh).

A series of meetings were held since last year in New Delhi, Dhaka and Agartala to finalise the strategy to supply power to Bangladesh from Tripura’s Palatana power project.