Bangladesh clears pending power dues to Tripura amid strained bilateral climate

In a significant move amid growing anti-India sentiment and political turbulence in Bangladesh, the neighbouring country has cleared all its pending electricity dues to Tripura.

Tripura, which shares an 856 km-long international border with Bangladesh—the second longest after West Bengal—has been exporting electricity to the neighbouring nation under a formal agreement. 

Earlier in 2024, reports indicated that Bangladesh owed Tripura approximately Rs 200 crore in outstanding payments for power supply. 

However, despite the mounting dues, Tripura had not considered suspending electricity supply.

Currently, the state supplies between 60 and 70 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh through a tripartite agreement involving Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL), NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN), and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).

Confirming the development, Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that Bangladesh has settled all outstanding bills.
“Tripura has been a power-surplus state and has been selling electricity to Bangladesh since 2016. About Rs 200 crore in dues were pending. Under the agreement, we cannot deal with Bangladesh directly—it has to be routed through NVVN. But now, all dues have been cleared,” Nath stated.

The minister also clarified that while Tripura was expected to supply up to 110 MW of electricity to Bangladesh, the current supply remains in the range of 60–70 MW. The original agreement, signed in March 2016, outlined a supply of 100 MW, which was later extended to 160 MW.

Tripura has a total power generation capacity of over 200 MW, sourced from various plants including Palatana, Monarchak, Gomuti Hydro-electric Project, Baramura Gas Thermal Power Station, and Rokhia Gas Thermal Power Station. Additionally, around 8 MW is generated from solar energy during daytime hours, and there is a 1 MW diesel-based unit dating back to the pre-independence era.

To strengthen its energy sector, Tripura has recently proposed a series of new projects and submitted a memorandum at the regional power conference held in Sikkim.