[🇧🇩] Energy Security of Bangladesh

[Saif]

Exploiting benefits of solar air conditioners

The market of hybrid solar air conditioner is growing globally. As the world turns hotter, the demand for air conditioners has also gone up in Bangladesh along with other tropical countries. With the constant revision of power prices (upward) in the country, electricity bills have become a major he

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Exploiting benefits of solar air conditioners
SYED MANSUR HASHIM
Published :
Jun 07, 2024 22:59
Updated :
Jun 07, 2024 23:00

— Collected

The market of hybrid solar air conditioner is growing globally. As the world turns hotter, the demand for air conditioners has also gone up in Bangladesh along with other tropical countries. With the constant revision of power prices (upward) in the country, electricity bills have become a major headache for most people. There is a desperate need for a more affordable solution to energy consumption at not just household, but also commercial and industrial level. Rooftop solar panels are increasingly becoming visible at factory-level, but there is great potential for expanding that idea to all urban centres where a sizeable portion of the working population lives.

With easier terms of payments made possible through zero interest instalment payments, the middle class in Bangladesh (the largest consumer section) are rushing to buy air conditioners. Inverter-type split air conditioners promise to save a lot of electricity from non-inverter types, but the fact remains that in an import-driven, fossil-fuel powered energy sector, utility bills will inevitably be itching upward every year. This has given rise to technological innovation which calls for a hybrid air conditioner design, which is being developed and increasingly utilised by power-hungry, highly populated economies like China, India, etc. Indeed, market data suggest that given proper regulatory incentives, tax breaks on import of key components, the global market for such air conditioners could be worth as much as US$500 million by 2025.

The system is a combination of traditional air conditioning type (split-type) with solar panels in an effort to reduce both energy consumption and environmental impact. The Asia-Pacific region will be the focal point of this growth because of the large concentration of people living in the region that smarts under high temperatures practically throughout the year. Challenges faced by the market include higher initial costs and limited awareness among consumers. Regulatory and legal factors specific to market conditions include government policies promoting renewable energy adoption and regulations for energy efficiency standards. Overall, the market of hybrid solar air conditioner shows promising growth potential with the right support and innovation.

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[Saif]

Power gets a third of Tk 108,240cr subsidies

More than a third of the subsidies allocated in the new budget is for the power sector due to what experts say is the huge spending on capacity charges.

www.thedailystar.net

Power gets a third of Tk 108,240cr subsidies
Capacity charges may take up most of it

More than a third of the subsidies allocated in the new budget is for the power sector due to what experts say is the huge spending on capacity charges.

The large sum of subsidy has raised eyebrows as the government increased electricity prices several times since January last year.

Currently, the power generation capacity is around 26,000 megawatts while the highest generation was recorded at 16,477MW on April 30 this year.

Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali in his budget speech said 27 power plants with a combined capacity of 9,144MW were being constructed.

All sectors combined, subsidy allocation for the fiscal 2024-25 is Tk 108,240 crore, of which the power sector will get Tk 40,000 crore, or 37 percent of the total.

In the current fiscal year, the power sector got Tk 35,000 crore of the total Tk 106,897 crore subsidy.

For many years before 2021-22, subsidies for the sector used to be between Tk 7,000 crore and Tk 9,000 crore.

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[Saif]

Power Grid gets large sums as govt prioritises transmission, distribution

In Bangladesh, the power generation capacity increased to 30,277 megawatts in 2023-24 from 4,942 MW in 2009, said Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in his budget speech.

www.thedailystar.net

Power Grid gets large sums as govt prioritises transmission, distribution

Around a third of the budgetary allocation set aside for the power division is going to the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) as the government plans to make the most of installed generation capacity by expanding grids and making some of the existing facilities smart.

The finance minister has set aside Tk 29,230 crore for the power division for 2024-25, down 13 percent year-on-year. PGCB will get Tk 10,634 crore.

Coal Power Generation Company of Bangladesh, which is implementing the Matarbari power plant in Cox's Bazar, received the second-highest allocation.

Centring the power plant project, PGCB is implementing several projects in Chattogram, upgrading grids. It has received Tk 1,500 crore to carry out the tasks.

The Barapukuria-Bogura-Kaliakair 400kv project has been given Tk 2,356 crore and the power evacuation facilities project Tk 646 crore.

Among the PGCB's schemes, the highest Tk 3,555 crore has been earmarked for the Power Network Strengthening project, which started in 2016.

In Bangladesh, the power generation capacity increased to 30,277 megawatts in 2023-24 from 4,942 MW in 2009, said Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in his budget speech.

Currently, 27 plants with a combined capacity of 9,144 MWs are under construction. Most of them are in the private sector.

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[Saif]

The absurdity of subsidies in power sector

Squandering of funds in the name of capacity charges must stop

www.thedailystar.net

The absurdity of subsidies in power sector
Squandering of funds in the name of capacity charges must stop

VISUAL: STAR

In a frustrating if predictable move, the government has once again allocated a third of the budget for subsidies to the power sector, an overwhelming majority of which will be used to pay off capacity charges. It seems no amount of expert logic, public outrage, or even IMF prescriptions can discourage the government from wasting public funds on paying private power plants to sit idle. It has already spent more than Tk 1 lakh crore in capacity charges over the last 14 years. Research by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) reveals that capacity payments have skyrocketed from Tk 5,600 crore in 2017-18 to a staggering Tk 32,000 crore in the outgoing fiscal year, accounting for a whopping 81 percent of total subsidies in the power sector.

Instead of bringing down capacity charges as a matter of priority, the government is constructing an additional 27 power plants, which can only translate to a further increase in capacity charges in the coming year(s). What's more outrageous is that the government has decided to raise power tariffs three to four times a year apparently to lower subsidies over the next three years. Electricity prices were raised by 8.5 percent in February this year, and thrice by 5 percent each last year. Why is the public being asked to pay higher prices in the name of reducing subsidies when, in fact, the government is increasing subsidy allocation in the power sector—from 32 percent of the total allocation last year to 37 percent in the proposed budget?

As always, it is the people who are being unfairly tasked with absorbing the burden of chronic mismanagement, collusion, and corruption in the power sector. This is simply unacceptable, particularly given that the government does not seem to be taking any visible steps to address the root causes of high production costs—a lack of transparency and accountability in awarding contracts, overreliance on expensive imported fuels, and neglecting domestic gas exploration and renewable energy sources. Subsidies make sense when they ensure cheaper and more accessible services and amenities to the public, not when they prop up big business groups at enormous cost to the country and ordinary citizens.

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[Saif]

PM reiterates Bangladesh's interest to import hydroelectricity from Bhutan

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today sought investment from Bhutan in the special economic zone in Bangladesh for investors from the Himalayan country

www.thedailystar.net

PM reiterates Bangladesh's interest to import hydroelectricity from Bhutan

Photo: PID

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today sought investment from Bhutan in the special economic zone in Bangladesh for investors from the Himalayan country.

She emphasised proper use of the SEZ allotted to Bhutan in Kurigram and hoped Bhutan would set up industries there, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

She made the remarks when Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay paid a courtesy call on her at the ITC Maurya New Delhi this afternoon.

Both Hasina and Tobgay are in Delhi to attend the swearing-in of Narendra Modi as India's prime minister.

Hasina reiterated Bangladesh's eagerness to import hydroelectricity from Bhutan through India and pointed out that a tripartite agreement was required with India, said Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud.

"Tobgay conveyed to Hasina that Bhutan is eagerly waiting to export hydroelectricity to Bangladesh," Mahmud said.​

"Both the countries have reiterated their commitment to enhancing the existing multifaceted relations," he said.