The government has signed contracts with 12 independent power producers (IPPs) to generate 918-MW electricity at an average cost of 7.80 cents (Tk 9.12) per kilowatt-hour, with officials saying the amount was roughly 2.5 cents lower than previous such costs.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) officials said that the recent deals were part of an extensive energy mix campaign to maximize renewable energy generation, reducing dependence on traditional and, particularly, on imported fossil fuel sources.
“The tariff drop of 2 to 3 cents means the average generation cost will fall significantly from earlier average prices that hovered around 10.50 cents per kilowatt-hour,” said an official.
BPDB officials said as part of the campaign, the new government annulled a past interim regime decision to scrap earlier adopted six power projects, alongside taking six new projects to get the 918 MW electricity at lower tariffs.
They said the 12 plants under the signed 12 projects were expected to be commissioned in the next two years, while all of them would be connected to the national power grid.
