The first power interconnection between India and Bangladesh has been completed. The first 175 MW of power flowed from India to Bangladesh in September 2013. It is the first electricity grid interconnection among SAARC countries with a 400 kV AC link between India and Bangladesh through a HVDC back-to-back station in Bangladesh. This monopole back-to-back HVDC system links India's eastern electrical grid to Bangladesh's western grid. The HVDC station in Bangladesh is connected to the country’s existing 230 kV grid. A new 400 kV alternating current high-voltage overhead line provides the cross-border connection to the 400 kV substation in India. In December 2013, the full transmission power capacity of 500 MW was achieved and the system is capable of future expansion up to 1,000 MW. The project was made possible under an India-Bangladesh power exchange program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In 2013, India's state-run NTPC's power trading arms VidyutVyapar Nigam and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) signed an electricity purchase agreement for 250 MW that allows Bangladesh to buy their urgently needed power at a competitive rate. For the remaining 250 MW, Bangladesh signed another power purchase agreement with PTC India.