India today started transmission of electricity to Bangladesh to test a newly built line under an agreement to export 250 Megawatt of power to its energy-starved neighbour.
"The flow of power began on a test-run basis ahead of the formal launch of the transmission system on October 5," said a power division spokesman.
50 MW of power was transmitted and the quantity will vary from 50 and 175 megawatts till October 5, when Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to launch a power-grid substation at western Bheramara, the entry point of the cross-border transmission line, the spokesman said.
Indian premier Manmohan Singh is also expected to join the ceremony through video conference from his office in New Delhi, he added.
The state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Indian NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN), a subsidiary of India's National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), inked a deal on February 28 last year to import 250 MW of electricity, following up on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed during Sheikh Hasina's 2010 visit to New Delhi.
The transmission line went into operation ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony of Bangladesh's biggest ever power plant, the the USD 1.5 billion 1320 MW plant at Rampal, to be built by BPDB and NTPC on a 50:50 equity basis.
