The Power Grid Company Of Bangladesh (PGCB). formed by the government to look after power transmission in the country, has begun operation with a number of benefits and facilities.

Official sources said the company will charge transmission tariff higher than PDB's but it will be exempted from paying income tax. among other benefits.

The Power Development Board (PDB) last month handed over its Haripur-Comilla Grid Sub-station and the 45 km Haripur-Ghorashal transmission line to PGCB in the first phase of transfer of transmission system. PDB owns a total of 3000 km transmission lines.

PDB and DESA will use

PGCB's system and pay it a tariff higher than its (PDB) own. As a result, power transmission cost through Haripur-Ghorashal line, which is around 11 poisha now. will increase by 7 poisha per unit. The extra cost will be absorbed in the power tariff in the country. PDB will bear this extra cost, which will increase its loss, the sources said.

Created under an Asian Development Bank (ADB) condition for two project loans. PGCB is wholly owned by PDB. ADB had been pressing for separation of power transmission from PDB to minimise its system loss that is crippling growth of the power sector.

However, transmission is PDB's only sector where system loss is the lowest (around 4 per cent). The system loss in power ■transmission is entirely due to technical reasons, the sources said.

PDB had long been reluctant to create a separate transmission company on the ground that in the past, creation of DESA under World Bank pressure "proved totally counterproductive", sources said. "However, PDB finally surrendered to the ADB pressure and agreed to hand over its assets in two distribution areas", one source in PDB said.

PDB will transfer its Hasnabad grid sub-station and 40 km transmission line to PGCB in June next year.

"After Hasnabad, there will be no more handover of transmission system to PGCB without seeing the benefits", the source said.

There are about 3500 km power transmission lines in the country, of which PDB owns 3000 km and DESA 500 km. PDB has 84 sub-stations.

PDB's own transmission rate is only 11 poisha per unit.' But for PGCB, the government has fixed a rate atT8 poisha. Terming the pricing as "irrational", the source said. The transmission system was PDB's asset and the rate was cheaper under PDB's supervision.

" There’s no justification why PDB should bear the loss for the enhanced price. Reforms are usually introduced to reduce cost. But here in Bangladesh, reforms are made to increase cost and ultimately burden the people."

Though a subsidiary of PDB. the salary structure tor PGCB

employees is five/ six times higher than that for PDB employees. This has also created dissatisfaction among PDB em-ployees.and officials, they said.

The Energy Ministry is also processing a proposal to exempt PGCB from paying income tax now. "If the Finance Ministry refuses to give this facility to PGCB. the Energy Ministry will once again 'restructure' the transmission tariff In favour of the company", the source said.

It is expected that the present system would earn PGCB Tk 200.40 lakh a month. Of this. PDB will pay Tk 196.5 lakh. DESA 3.12 lakh and the Rural Electrification Board Tk 0.78 lakh.

PDB will also pay Tk. 159.5 lakh to PGCB for purchase of transportation and testing equipment, a monthly bill of Tk 9.03 lakh for maintenance and repair and make an one-time payment of.Tk 95 lakh for the same purpose.