Pay Rs 135 crore power dues immediately, Tripura tells Bangladesh

AGARTALA: Bangladesh owes Rs 135 crore to Tripura in electricity dues as per the power trade agreement made through NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. The state has sought the immediate realisation of pending dues.

The decision comes amid the growing "anti-India activities" in the neighbouring country. Saturday's alleged attack on an Agartala-Kolkata bus travelling via Dhaka in Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh, following an accident involving a truck and an autorickshaw, appears to be the latest trigger. Although there were no casualties, a group allegedly threatened the passengers and shouted anti-India slogans.

Tripura's power minister Ratan Lal Nath Sunday said, "Though Rs 135 crore is outstanding, Bangladesh has been making the payments regularly. For each unit of power, we are charging Rs 6.65, which is a decent rate compared with the one we get from domestic connections."

TSECL cuts power supply to Bangladesh over Rs 100 crore dues in May 2024

Earlier, in May 2024, Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) restricted power supply to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) as the latter failed to make payment on time.

For the last one year, the Bangladesh authorities couldn't make timely payments which led to a spike in outstanding amounts.

"The BPDB owes more than Rs 1 crore to Tripura State Electricity Corporation. We are trying hard to make sure that the payment is streamlined but there seem to be some financial issues. We have written letters to the Bangladesh authorities. I have personally met the chairman of the Bangladesh Power Development Board. The power minister has also spoken to the Union Power Ministry so that the issues could be resolved as early as possible. The TSECL is also facing tough times financially because of the spiking outstanding amount," Managing Director TSECL Debasish Sarkar said.

According to Sarkar, as per the agreement Bangladesh is entitled to get 160 megawatts of power from Tripura. The trading is supervised by NVVN (NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam).

"We have also spoken to the NVVN to make sure that the timely payment is made," he added.

He also stated that Bangladesh had been paying the dues in installments which has impacted the fund flow of the state electricity corporation.

He attributed the restriction to the costly purchase of power. "Generation of power in Tripura-based power plants dropped by 60 to 70 megawatts. We used to be a power surplus state but now we are purchasing power from exchange to cope with the rising domestic demand. If all the power plants generate power to the optimum level, we would have been in a better position. Lack of gas also hindered the power generation in the thermal power projects," he explained.