Bangladesh may have to pay a new charge for importing electricity from India, with a proposed settlement nodal agency fee of 0.005 Indian rupees, or half a paisa, per unit.

The charge will be levied separately from the electricity price to cover costs related to grid operation, scheduling, metering, accounting and settlement of cross-border electricity transactions.

The initiative involves signing an agreement between NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) of India and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). The Power Division has sought the Finance Division’s opinion on the proposed agreement.

According to officials, India initially proposed a charge of 0.01 rupee per unit, but following discussions with BPDB, the rate was reduced to 0.005 rupee. The proposed rate is similar to the charge applied to electricity trade with Nepal and Bhutan.

The proposed agreement covers 1,160 megawatts of electricity imported from five Indian sources. If the full capacity is imported continuously, Bangladesh would receive about 1.16 million units of electricity per hour, resulting in a settlement charge of around 5,800 Indian rupees per hour.

Officials said the per-unit charge is relatively small, but its cumulative financial impact could be significant because of the large volume and long-term nature of electricity imports.

Bangladesh currently has arrangements to import up to 2,656 megawatts of electricity from India. However, the 1,496-megawatt supply from Adani Power’s Godda plant in Jharkhand is excluded from the proposed agreement, as similar charges are already included in its power purchase agreement.

The Power Division warned that delays in signing the agreement could disrupt the import of 1,160 megawatts of electricity from India. Once implemented, the new fee will add to Bangladesh’s overall cost of importing electricity from its neighbour.