Sembcorp Energy India is set to bag a tender for supply of 250 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh after it bid the lowest tariff.
Sources with direct knowledge of the development said Sembcorp Gayatri Power, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Energy India Ltd, bid the lowest among half a dozen power utilities that submitted offers to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) for the supply of 250 MW of electricity for 15 years.
It wasn’t immediately known as to how much Sembcorp had bid.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had in February invited bids for buying 250 MW power from Indian firms for short duration (August 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019) and long-term (January 1, 2020, and July 31, 2033).
Besides Sembcorp, other bidders included Adani Power Mundra Ltd, Hindustan Power, Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd, Meenakshi Energy Pvt Ltd and Odisha Power Generation Corp Ltd.
Sources said, Sembcorp made the most competitive offer for supply of electricity generated from imported coal at its Andhra Pradesh plant.
While BPDB officials were not reachable for comments, a Sembcorp spokesperson said, “Sembcorp Energy India’s subsidiary SGPL has participated in the Bangladesh Power Development Board’s bid for supply of 250 MW power for 15 years. We are awaiting an official notification on the outcome. In view of this, it is not appropriate for us to comment further.”
India exports approximately 900 MW of electricity to Bangladesh.
In February, state-run power giant NTPC had won a bid to supply 300 MW power to Bangladesh for 15 years at an estimated tariff of Rs 3.42 per unit. NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Ltd, had won that bid over Sembcorp by a few paise, sources said.
That contract gave NTPC Rs 900 crore of annual revenue.
For that tender, BPDB had invited bids for supply of 500 MW power from India for short-term (June 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019) and long-term (January 1, 2020, to May 31, 2033). NVVN, Adani Group, PTC and Sembcorp submitted bids by the scheduled date of January 11.
As on June 5, Bangladesh had about 15,553 MW of installed capacity and 2,800 MW of captive power capacity. This is, however, way short of demand and the country had to import electricity.
Sources said Sembcorp is likely to begin supplies from August.
Sembcorp Energy India Ltd is part of the Singapore-based energy, water and marine group, Sembcorp Industries. Sembcorp Gayatri operates a 2,640 MW coal-fired power plant in Andhra Pradesh.
