[🇧🇩] Energy Security of Bangladesh

[Saif]

Chinese cos keen to invest in renewable energy

A high-level business delegation from China visited the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority to explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh’s growing renewable energy sector.

www.newagebd.net

Chinese cos keen to invest in renewable energy
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka 23 December, 2024, 22:20

A high-level business delegation from China visited the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority to explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh’s growing renewable energy sector.

The meeting, held at the BIDA conference room, was chaired by Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of the BIDA and BEZA on Sunday, said a press release on Monday.

During the session, the Chinese delegation, comprising representatives from major renewable energy companies such as LONGi Green Energy Technology Co Limited, Tongwei Co Limited and Yunnan Show, presented their advanced technologies and successful international projects.

These companies expressed strong interest in investing in Bangladesh to support the country’s renewable energy goals, particularly in solar energy.

The delegation was welcomed by Ashik Mahmud, who also highlighted Bangladesh’s enormous potential for foreign investments in renewable energy.

He emphasised the government’s commitment to creating a favourable investment climate, offering significant benefits such as tax holidays, duty-free imports and a skilled workforce.

Ashik Mahmud further assured the Chinese investors that the BIDA and BEZA were fully prepared to provide comprehensive support, making Bangladesh a prime destination for investment.

Nahian Rahman Rochi, head of business development at the BIDA, elaborated on Bangladesh’s unique value proposition as an investment destination during his presentation, particularly for renewable energy.

He emphasised the surging local demand for renewable energy, advantages of manufacturing in Bangladesh and potential for high returns on investment.

Nahian noted the several government initiatives were underway to promote the use of solar energy by industries, with a special focus on rooftop solar systems.

During his presentation, Nahian also highlighted the several reform initiatives taken by the BIDA to improve the investment climate.

With Bangladesh’s ambitious goal to achieve 40 per cent renewable energy by 2040, Nahian emphasised the importance of the local market, which is driven by the country’s 170 million population.

He urged investors to focus on this growing market and submit investment proposals, noting that the BIDA, BEZA, and other government agencies would continue to provide support to ensure the success of such ventures.

Wang Feng from the Chinese delegation mentioned, ‘We are willing to fully understand Bangladesh’s market demand, investment policies, cooperation methods and other aspects in the field of power and energy, and are willing to discuss the fields, prospects and potential of future cooperation between Yunnan and Bangladesh, even China and Bangladesh.’

The meeting ended with a multi-stakeholder networking session, where representatives from local solar energy players, commercial banks, law firms and international industries gathered to explore potential collaborations.

The discussions were expected to further strengthen economic ties between Bangladesh and China, particularly in the renewable energy sector.​

 

[Saif]

Gas supply falls to near zero at places

The supply of piped gas to households has reduced to almost zero in many areas of the capital Dhaka and adjacent localities while many industries in the areas have also made similar complaints.

www.newagebd.net

Gas supply falls to near zero at places
Emran Hossain 24 December, 2024, 23:59

File photo

The supply of piped gas to households has reduced to almost zero in many areas of the capital Dhaka and adjacent localities while many industries in the areas have also made similar complaints.

Authorities, however, say that they are providing the best gas supply in years this December, almost at their optimum capacity, suggesting no improvement in the situation anytime soon.

In less than three months, when the brief winter will be over with the onset of the hottest time of year, the energy situation may worsen with the demand set to increase by at least 70 per cent.

Bangladesh grapples with a prolonged economic crisis partly caused by energy imports that deplete its foreign currency reserve.

The acute gas crisis disrupted daily lives, complained household and commercial consumers, by making them spend more on food and essential items.

‘We are running at 30 per cent capacity,’ Mahmud Group general manager Sudhangshu Kumar Dutta told New Age.

His factory at Shafipur in Gazipur has a pipeline with a receiving capacity of 150 pounds per square inch.

‘The actual supply now stands at 1 or 2 PSI,’ he said.

Mahmud Group let go of a garment factory with more than 4,000 employees due to continued production loss owed to inadequate supply of energy.

Bangladesh has been largely dependent on gas for energy for decades amidst poor exploratory works in the world’s largest delta, believed to be a decent gas reserve.

The discovered fields have run dry and are close to stopping production.

Starting in 2018, Bangladesh saw its foreign currency reserve to deplete fast after beginning to import liquefied natural gas.

‘This is the best we could do. We are operating at our maximum capacity,’ said Petrobangla chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker, adding that the supply situation would remain the same until February.

The state-owned Petrobangla supplied 2,755.7mmcfd in the 24 hours until Tuesday morning. The demand is officially estimated to be 4,000mmcfd.

On Tuesday, the Petrobangla supplied 851.5mmcfd to power production, meeting only 34 per cent of the demand, and 204.8mmcfd to fertilizer against the demand of 329mmcfd.

Winter is the time the government tries to feed gas to fertilizer production as the energy demand in the power sector falls because of cold weather. The supply to the fertilizer sector was increased by about 80mmcfd compared with the summer-time supply to the sector.

‘The crisis defeated our worst imagination,’ said Hamida Banu, a resident of Uttar Badda.

For the past several days, Uttar Badda residents received almost no gas throughout the day and a good part of the night. In the wee hours of day, some areas received a weak flow not enough to boil an egg regardless of the time cooked.

‘All residents of 40 flats in my apartment building could not cook over the past several days,’ said Nur Hossain, a caretaker of an eight-storied building in Uttar Badda.

Similar complaints poured in from Mohammadpur, Kathalbagan, Mirpur, Central Road, Gendaria, and Rampura.

These areas used to get piped gas supply from dusk to dawn, but nowadays they are denied supply for even longer hours.

The worst outcome of the energy crisis is that the consumers of piped gas are paying despite no supply. Piped gas prices are fixed based on an assumed monthly consumption.

The consumers even continue paying the same as they do during normal gas supply, they alleged.

The speculation that the government wants households to switch to liquefied petroleum gas turned into a reality with many piped gas consumers using LPG as an alternative energy source.

After the government stopped giving new piped gas connections to households in 2010, the import of LPG topped 10 lakh tonnes in 2020 from 60,000 tonnes 10 years ago.

Household consumers consume 15 per cent of piped gas supplied through the same transmission network shared by industrial and commercial consumers.

Households get weak flow round the year competing with big industrial consumers. Less supply often prompts household consumers to undertake unethical means to get their fair share of gas, many consumers alleged.

The affluent segment of the society may dine out when gas supply falls but low-income people cannot afford such luxury and they either fast or stay half-fed, they said.

‘We have meals once a day,’ said Dulna Rani, a housemaid in Mirpur, who shares a kitchen with about a dozen families and cannot afford to cook twice in a weak flame after working 10 hours outside home.

The deposed government increased the gas price several times between 2019 and 2023. In one of the occasions, the gas price for industries was increased by about 180 per cent.

The cost increased but the supply did not improve, many consumers said.

On Tuesday, the LNG supply was 830.9mmcfd against the capacity of 1,000mmcfd.

Titas, which supplies piped gas to 70 per cent of about 4 million household consumers, said that the gas supply suddenly dropped by 150mmcfd, particularly over the past several days.

Titas needs a minimum 2,000mmcfd to meet the demand in Dhaka, Titas officials said, adding that over the past several days, the supply remained below 1500mmcfd.​

 

[Saif]

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/titas-snaps-400-illegal-gas-connections-in-savar

Titas snaps 400 illegal gas connections in Savar
FE ONLINE DESK
Published :
Dec 24, 2024 23:05
Updated :
Dec 24, 2024 23:05

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Limited has disconnected 400 illegal gas connections including one commercial establishment and removed 1.5 kilometer illegal pipeline in Savar area on the outskirts of Dhaka.

The drive against illegal gas connections was conducted at Hemayetpur area of Savar yesterday.

Through the drive in three separate areas, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Limited disconnected 400 burners, which will save 67,200 cubic feet gas daily worth around Tk 44,670, reports BSS.

The mobile court of Titas led by a magistrate seized 1500 metre GI pipe and 15 regulators. The mobile court also realized Tk 100,000 as fine from KS Fashion and Washing Factory.​

 

[Saif]

Govt should overhaul energy policy to increase gas supply

THE supply of gas has reduced to almost zero, as residents complain, in many areas of the capital city. Industries in neighbouring areas also make similar complaints. Whilst households...

www.newagebd.net

Govt should overhaul energy policy to increase gas supply
26 December, 2024, 00:00

THE supply of gas has reduced to almost zero, as residents complain, in many areas of the capital city. Industries in neighbouring areas also make similar complaints. Whilst households in areas such as Badda, Central Road, Gendaria, Kanthal Bagan, Mirpur, Mohammadpur and Rampura complain that they receive almost no gas during the day time and for a good part of the night, forcing many to eat out or buy food at restaurants, industries complain of having been forced to run to less than capacity. Households get weak flow round the year which many believe prompts consumers to resort to unethical means for their share of gas. The owner of a factory in Gazipur says that it has a pipeline to receive gas at 150 pounds per square inch, but it receives gas at 1 or 2 pounds per square inch. The poor situation of gas supply also constitutes injustice to consumers in that people who use supply gas continue to pay a fixed price based on an assumed monthly consumption irrespective of whether they received the volume of gas that they are meant to receive and regardless of the pressure of gas in the supply line.

The state-owned Petrobangla says that that it is running to its maximum capacity, the best supply in years this December, noting that there would be no improvement in the situation until February. The situation may worsen once the winter is over, with the demand likely to increase by at least 70 per cent. Petrobangla supplied 851.5mmcfd of gas — 851.5mmcfd for power production, meeting only 34 per cent of the demand, and 204.8mmcfd for fertiliser production against the demand for 329mmcfd — in 24 hours ending in the morning on December 24. The demand was, however, officially estimated to be 4,000mmcfd. Winter is the time when the government feed gas into fertiliser production as the demand for power declines because of cold weather, with the supply for fertiliser having increased by about 80mmcfd compared with the summer-time supply for the sector. There have also been speculations that the government wants households to switch to liquefied petroleum gas. Many households having used supply gas switching to liquefied petroleum gas as an alternative energy source lends credence to the proposition. After the government stopped giving gas connections to households in 2010, liquefied petroleum gas import increased to a million tonnes in 2020 from only 60,000 tonnes a decade ago. Yet, the government has largely been dependent on gas for energy for decades amidst poor exploration. The gas fields discovered have run dry and are close to stopping production. The government of the Awami League, overthrown on August 5, has increased gas prices several times between 2019 and 2023, with the price on one occasion having been increased by about 180 per cent for industries. But the supply has not improved.

All this hints at flaws in the energy policy that has held back the gas production and management. The government should overhaul the energy policy to improve gas supply whilst it gets down to hydrocarbon exploration.​

 

[Saif]

Summer power supply looks bleak

The country’s power supply outlook for the next summer remains bleak with energy experts suggesting that optimum use of coal power capacity should be the core of the power generation plan to tackle the situation.

www.newagebd.net

Summer power supply looks bleak
Emran Hossain 30 December, 2024, 00:51

The country’s power supply outlook for the next summer remains bleak with energy experts suggesting that optimum use of coal power capacity should be the core of the power generation plan to tackle the situation.

They, however, pointed out many obstacles to achieving the target.

The biggest obstacle is the existing row over unpaid bills with the 1,496MW Adani power plant, the largest coal power plant that has reduced supply to about 400MW at certain hours in a day amidst speculations of diverting power supply to India, they said.

The installed coal power generation capacity is 5,683MW, representing 20 per cent of the overall installed power generation capacity of 27,840MW.

Authorities predicted the peak summer power demand to reach 17,500MW in 2025 with the energy experts estimating that the summer power demand would never fall below 14,000MW.

‘Gas could have been the better option, but directing more gas to power generation implies reducing its supply to industries,’ Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development member secretary Hasan Mehedi told New Age on Sunday.

The generation cost of a unit of electricity from gas was Tk 6.31 in 2023-34, the second lowest power generation cost after hydro-power.

The low-cost power generation from gas is unsustainable because of depleting local gas reserves, which accounted for three-fourths of the gas used for power production in 2023-24.

Producing electricity from imported liquefied natural gas is far too expensive. In 2022-23, Petrobangla bought a unit of gas from state-owned oil companies for Tk 1.5 while the cost of buying local gas extracted by international companies stood at Tk 4.5. The import cost of a unit of LNG was Tk 62.

Bangladesh’s current gas demand is about 4,000mmcfd. The maximum supply, however, remains about 2,800mmcfd. With its current gas handling capacity, the supply could be increased by maximum 200mmcfd.

‘We will try to generate as much electricity as possible from gas next summer,’ said Khandaker Mokammel Hossain, in charge of power generation at the Bangladesh Power Development Board.

The board has asked for 1,200mmcfd gas supply for power generation in the summer.

On December 29, the gas supply to power plants stood at 877mmcfd. In the past summer, the maximum gas supply to the power plants was 950mmcfd.

For an increase of 100mmcfd of gas, power generation increases by 500MW.

An acute gas crisis is currently plaguing households and industries, affecting lives and business. In some areas, the gas supply dropped to near zero recently.

Bangladesh’s current installed gas-based power generation capacity is 11,997MW, 43 per cent of the overall installed power generation capacity.

In 2023-24, less than 45 per cent of the gas-based power generation capacity was used. The gas capacity use is believed to drop in 2024-25.

‘A plan for a combined use of gas and coal is needed to tackle the power demand in summer,’ said Shafiqul Alam, lead energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, Bangladesh.

The plan must ensure a regular and timely release of funds for energy purchases, after carefully analysing the market prices to ensure the use of cheaper fuel, he said.

Without the Adani power plant, coal power generation capacity drops to about 4,100MW.

In 2023-24, Bangladesh used less than 36 per cent of its coal capacity, excluding the Adani power plant, which ran at 62 per cent capacity.

Bangladesh has seven coal power plants. A unit of power produced from the Adani power plant cost Tk 14.87 while the average cost of producing power from other coal power plants was Tk 12.74.

A major challenge in ensuring coal supply is that most coal power plants are run by importing the fuel on an ad-hoc basis.

The 1,320MW Payra power plant has a long-term coal supply agreement with a Chinese company. Such agreements are, however, absent in case of the 1,320MW Rampal and 1,224MW SS power plants.

The coal price on the international market is currently rather low. The price might increase any moment as happened over past several years, creating a surge in demand leading to a supply crisis.

‘A situation could develop when you have money but you fail to find a coal supplier,’ warned Hasan Mehedi.

The BPDB said that they were trying to clear bills to coal power plants ahead of the summer.

Energy experts saw no escape from using furnace oil-based power plants on a large scale in the next summer. They saw the prospect of using furnace oil to generate 2,500MW during daytime with the likelihood of the generation reaching 4,000MW in evening peak hours.

In 2023-24, the cost of generating a unit of power from furnace oil-based power plants was Tk 25.70.

‘The best option is to use all coal-based power plants, trying to maintain a base-load of at least 13,000MW,’ said energy expert Mohammad Tamim.

For four hours on sunny days, the energy expert said, solar power could supply up to 700MW.

If 10,000MW could be generated using gas and coal out of their combined generation capacity of 17,680MW, energy experts estimated, a minimum supply of 13,000MW could be possible with the rest of the supply coming from furnace oil and solar energy.

Finding solutions to all these crises depends on finding enough money to purchase fuels, the experts said.

Bangladesh’s current foreign currency reserve stands at about $20b. After falling for about three years, the reserve remained static over the past several months.

People suffered frequent power cuts even in November. The power cuts were reminiscent of long hours of power outage in the past summer, especially in villages, where the poor remained without power for 10 hours or more. The highest power supply in the past summer was 16,477MW.

Summer power cuts could bear serious consequences for it could affect the cultivation of boro, the country’s main staple crop.

‘We must admit power cuts will not go away. But we are trying to keep it at a tolerable level,’ said Mokammel Hossain.​

 

[Saif]

Gas supply to be low in Bangladesh for 72 hours from Wednesday

The state-owned oil company Petrobangla on Tuesday warned that the gas supply across the country will drop with consumers experiencing low pressure in the piped gas supply...

www.newagebd.net

Gas supply to be low in Bangladesh for 72 hours from Wednesday
Staff Correspondent 31 December, 2024, 15:57

Representational image | File photo

The state-owned oil company Petrobangla on Tuesday warned that the gas supply across the country will drop with consumers experiencing low pressure in the piped gas supply due to three days of maintenance work in one of the country’s two ‘floating storage and regasification units’ starting at 9:00am today.

The impending drop in the gas supply on the first day of New Year frustrated household customers and industrialists as well. Some areas in and adjacent to the capital recently complained about gas supply falling to near zero, even with liquefied natural gas supply to Bangladesh’s optimum capacity.

The floating storage and regasification unit going for maintenance is owned by the Excelerate Energy Bangladesh Limited, which was the country’s first-ever such unit to start supplying imported liquefied natural gas on August 19, 2018.

LNG supply might drop to between 570mmcfd and 580mmcfd, said a Petrobangla press release, potentially resulting in 150mmcfd to 180mmcfd less gas supply to the power sector.

In other sector, the gas supply will drop between 50mmcfd and 70mmcfd, the press release said, regretting potential inconvenience caused.

On Tuesday, the last day of 2024, Petrobangla supplied 831.4mmcfd of LNG to the national grid. The overall supply was 2,764.1mmcfd. The power sector received 848.9mmcfd.

For a 100mmcfd drop in gas supply electricity production may reduce by 500MW. The current power demand of the country is about 10,000MW and there is officially no load shedding at the moment.

Petrobangla officials said that the maintenance work was not scheduled with the company informing about the maintenance work all of a sudden on Monday afternoon.

The other unit, the Summit LNG Terminal, remained offline in six of the first nine months of this year, according to a report of the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

The Summit-owned floating storage and regasification unit was on routine maintenance in Singapore between January 22 and March 31. It shut down again on May 24 after the cyclone Remal hit. The unit could not be reconnected for a reason or the other until on September 11, prompting the government to cancel four LNG shipments. LNG deliveries to the terminal resumed on September 19.

LNG imports through the first floating storage and regasification unit at Moheshkhali were disrupted for months during the monsoon in 2018.

In 2021, the Summit LNG terminal was out of service for three months due to a damaged mooring line, resulting in gas shortages for power plants, industries and households.

In May 2023, Cyclone Mocha shut down both the units, followed by maintenance work for the Moheshkhali terminal from November 2023 to January 2024.

Both the LNG import terminals have a contract to receive $500,000 every day as regasification charge, not subject to the actual amount of gas handled.​

 

[Saif]

BD to rely heavily on LNG this yr

Bangladesh will have to depend more on volatile spot market this year to import costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) to feed mounting demands from industries, power plants and other gas-guzzling consumers as domestic natural gas output is on the wane, market insiders said. The country, for the first

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

BD to rely heavily on LNG this yr
M Azizur Rahman
Published :
Jan 02, 2025 00:07
Updated :
Jan 02, 2025 00:07

Bangladesh will have to depend more on volatile spot market this year to import costly liquefied natural gas (LNG) to feed mounting demands from industries, power plants and other gas-guzzling consumers as domestic natural gas output is on the wane, market insiders said.

The country, for the first time, has planned to source a major portion of LNG from spot market compared to long-term LNG suppliers this year resulting in an increasing pressure on foreign currency reserves, they said, adding that the country's spot LNG imports are set to double this year compared to 2024.

A senior Petrobangla official said state-run Petrobangla has planned to import a total of 115 LNG cargoes -- 59 from spot market and 56 from long-term suppliers, which marks a 33.72 per cent increase compared to that of the previous year.

Last year, the country imported a total of 86 LNG cargoes -- 56 from long-term suppliers and 30 from spot market, the official added.

Bangladesh imported half of the last year's total spot LNG cargoes or 15 in the past three months - October, November and December. The increase followed the resumption of operations of Summit LNG Terminal after a seven-month shutdown caused by overhauling, technical glitches and damage from cyclone Remal, he said.

Summit's floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) was offline from January to mid-April due to maintenance and technical issues. After resuming operations, Summit's FSRU re-gasified LNG for around one and a half months until late May before it was struck by a floating pontoon during the cyclone. The FSRU resumed operations in mid-September after recovering from the damage, the official elaborated.

Despite the cessation of operations during the initial weeks in 2024, US's Excelerate Energy's FSRU - Excellence - resumed operations following the overhauling and 20 per cent expanded re-gasification capacity to 4.50 million tonne per year from mid-January, he added.

Bangladesh imported only 15 LNG cargoes in between June to September in 2024 while it had imported 23 spot LNG cargoes in 2023.

The country has been importing the same number of LNG cargoes -56 - from its two existing long-term LNG suppliers-Qatargas and OQ Trading International-over the past three years when the LNG demand across the world grew after initiation of Russia-Ukraine war, said a senior official of state-owned Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL).

The RPGCL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrobangla, deals with LNG imports from global suppliers.

Both suppliers, however, had supplied a total of 64 LNG cargoes before the Russia-Ukraine war in 2021.

The volume of LNG supply from the two long-term suppliers is around the minimum volume they are bound to deliver under their sales and purchase agreements, or SPAs, with Petrobangla, said the RPGCL official.

Of the total long-term LNG cargoes for 2025 -- Qatargas will supply 40 LNG cargoes and OQ Trading will supply 16 LNG cargoes. The regular size of an LNG cargo is 138,000 cubic metres.

Considering the current market price, Bangladesh has to pay US$45-50 million to import one spot LNG cargo from international market.

According to the Petrobangla estimation, natural gas demand from power plants will be 1,980 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in 2025, 1,000 mmcfd for industries, 350 mmcfd for fertiliser factories while there will also be a hike in demand from other sectors.

Like in the previous several years, the country will have to ration gas supplies to consumers to cope with the short supply of natural gas.

The country's natural gas output from local gas fields has been on the decrease and over the past one year the output declined by around 117 mmcfd to around 1,933 mmcfd on December 31, 2024 from 2,050 mmcfd as of December 31, 2023.

Country's overall natural gas output is currently hovering around 2,737 mmcfd, of which around 802 mmcfd is re-gasified LNG, according to official Petrobangla's data as of January 1, 2025.​

 

[Saif]

Disclose AL govt’s power, energy deals

The BNP yesterday demanded public disclosure of all the power and energy sector agreements made by the ousted Awami League government.

www.thedailystar.net

Disclose AL govt’s power, energy deals
BNP urges interim govt

The BNP yesterday demanded public disclosure of all the power and energy sector agreements made by the ousted Awami League government.

"The interim government's first job should have been to make public the agreements so that the people can know how the Awami League gave contracts with public money without any tendering process or without following the public procurement rules," said Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, a standing committee member of BNP.

The AL government realised that money could be made quickly from the sector without any accountability as electricity is invisible, he said at a press conference at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office.

"They played a magic show in this sector and mobilised money by pickpocketing the people and siphoning the money abroad," said Tuku, who served as the state minister for power during the BNP-led government in 2001-06.

It seems that the power and energy sector was the most corrupt during the 16 years of AL rule, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in his opening remarks.

If the BNP wins the election, the party will review all the issues in the power and energy sector. "We will do what is necessary after reviewing," he said.

The AL spent about Tk 3.33 lakh crore in the power sector in the 16 years and looted more than Tk 1 lakh crore from the amount in the name of capacity charges, which the government has to pay whether the plant produces electricity or not, according to the BNP.

"By whom, and how were the capacity charges fixed in the deals? We want to know how the capacity of a machine [power plants] was calculated and what is the efficiency of the machine. Most of the machines that are receiving capacity charges by sitting idle are defective. They looted public money by installing defective machines and left," Tuku said.

The previous BNP government had the plan to generate at least 60 percent of power by the public sector, he said.

The AL government moved away from the plan by depending on the private sector to generate nearly 80 percent of the power.

"They kept idle the government-owned power plants and installed private sector plants which took high-capacity charges for years."

The quick rental power plants are usually installed to address emergency power shortages.

These plants were supposed to operate for two years but have been running for 15 years or more, and they have cashed their 75 percent investment without producing any power, Tuku said.

He named the five highest recipients of capacity charges: Summit Group (Tk 10,630 crore), Aggreko International (Tk 7,932 crore), Ultra Power Holdings (Tk 7,523 crore), United Group (Tk 6,575 crore) and RPCL (Tk 5,117 crore).

Besides, Bangladesh paid Tk 1,115 crore to India as capacity charges in the name of power import.

"The Awami League government's developments in this sector are not sustainable. The economy can collapse in the future due to their misconduct."

Tuku also raised questions about the corruption in the purchase of pre-paid meters, alleged involvement of Hasina's family in the Rooppur nuclear power plant and allegations of corruption by former state minister Nasrul Hamid in the purchase of liquified natural gas.

"Most of the companies that supplied LNG were owned by Nasrul Hamid and they looted millions."​

 

[Saif]

Gas supply likely to improve this evening in Dhaka city, elsewhere

Gas supply is expected to improve from Saturday evening in Dhaka city and elsewhere as a floating LNG Terminal resumed operation from 7 am on Saturday after three days of suspension. "We hope, gas supply situation will improve by this evening", Eng Md Rafiqul Islam, Director (Operation & Mines) to

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Gas supply likely to improve this evening in Dhaka city, elsewhere
UNB
Published :
Jan 04, 2025 15:58
Updated :
Jan 04, 2025 17:21

Gas supply is expected to improve from Saturday evening in Dhaka city and elsewhere as a floating LNG Terminal resumed operation from 7 am on Saturday after three days of suspension.

"We hope, gas supply situation will improve by this evening", Eng Md Rafiqul Islam, Director (Operation & Mines) told UNB.

He said the resumption of supply from the LNG terminal will increase gas supply by 210 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).

He said the country's two LNG terminals will together supply 780 mmcfd against their capacity of 1100 mmcfd.

"It means there is still a shortage of 320 mmcfd," he said adding that the nagging gas crisis will not be fully resolved soon.

A top official of Petrobangla said that the two LNG terminals need at least 10 cargoes for the month of January but so far 7 cargoes are confirmed for supply.

The consumers in Dhaka city and elsewhere have been experiencing acute gas crisis for last several months.

But situation severely deteriorated from Wednesday last when one LNG Terminal, operated by Excelerate Energy, went on repair and maintenance work.

Petrobangla in a press release had said that countrywide low pressure would prevail in gas supply for 72 hours (3 days) from January 1 to January 4 due to the suspension of operation of an LNG station, known as floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU).

Currently, the country has two FSRUs which supply about 1000-1100 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD) of the total gas production of 2900 MMCFD.

Meanwhile, consumers in many areas in the city alleged that they are not getting gas to cook.

Abdur Rahman, a resident of Rayerbazar area, said," We suffer all the year round due to short supply of gas but the situation turned worse in the last three days. Now we have to buy food as we have no gas to cook."

Aysha Chowdhury, a resident of Malinagh area and Jahanara of Shantinagar area also expressed anger for the suffering they have been enduring for the last of days for poor supply of gas.​

 

[Saif]

Looking back 2024: Energy sector crisis keeps growing

The power and energy sector is set to give the interim government a rough ride in 2025 with its financial burden growing even bigger, mainly due to further increase in power overcapacity and capacity charge.

www.newagebd.net

Looking back 2024: Energy sector crisis keeps growing
Emran Hossain 06 January, 2025, 00:26

The power and energy sector is set to give the interim government a rough ride in 2025 with its financial burden growing even bigger, mainly due to further increase in power overcapacity and capacity charge.

The 2,500MW power generation capacity to be installed in 2025, mostly based on fossil fuels such as coal and gas, will add to the existing power overcapacity, increasing the capacity charge burden by a third to about Tk 35,000 crore, compared with the previous year.

Many of the new and existing power plants would remain unused because of the energy crisis, potentially bringing frequent power cuts throughout blistering summer and affecting life and business.

Increasing energy prices would not solve the problem, energy experts warned, reminding that the interim government’s reform promises inspired strong expectations about energy prices coming down, which had not yet happened.

The ousted Awami League regime is accused of causing a huge financial crisis for the power and energy sector despite increasing the energy prices over a dozen times of energy price increase between 2009 and 2024, mainly due to flawed policies.

The combined subsidy requirement of the power and energy sector is about Tk 50,000 crore. The power sector subsidy requirement, mainly caused by overcapacity and capacity charge, is projected to exceed Tk 39,000 crore in 2025.

‘The problems will remain the same as observed over the past several years,’ said Shafiqul Alam, lead energy analyst of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, Bangladesh.

The government should clear outstanding power and energy bills and sort out a plan for releasing money for uninterrupted energy imports, keeping in mind that the fewer power plants sit idle the better.

Bangladesh Power Development Board accounts showed that the outstanding bills in the power sector stood at nearly Tk 46,000 crore in September 2024.

Raising power consumption, however, remained a big challenge because of reduced economic activities and poor national grid capacity limiting power supply to industries.

Industries rely on captive power rather than depending on the national grid fraught with repeated power cuts.

The 1,320MW coal-based Patuakhali power plant is set to begin operation this year. The BPDB is also set to start paying capacity charges for the 1,200MW Matarbari power plant and 583MW gas-based Meghnaghat power plant, among others, with the power plants ending their test run in 2025.

The delay in completing the first unit of the 2,400MW Ruppur nuclear power plant, which was supposed to be operational this year, would require importing a large amount of furnace oil.

Furnace oil-based power plants are predicted to run daylong during the summer, when the power demand is expected to reach 17,500MW, up by 1,000MW compared with 2024.

Bangladesh’s current installed capacity is over 29,000MW. The power demand dropped to less than 7,000MW during lean hours in the ongoing winter season. During the peak hours, the power demand remained around 10,000MW.

Power outages, however, continued even in the capital in the peak of winter.

‘Boro season is around the corner, reminding us about the diesel demand greatly increasing within the next two months,’ said Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development member secretary Hasan Mehedi.

The setback in renewable energy expansion after the interim government cancelled over 1,000MW renewable energy projects, which had been allowed without bidding, might prolong the energy crisis for longer than expected, energy experts said.

Currently, Bangladesh can generate 700MW from renewable energy sources.

The government recently floated a tender for about 350MW renewable energy projects but their implementation might take a while, particularly because of the negative impression sent to international investors by the recent cancellation of renewable energy projects.

The cancellation of the project of the third floating storage and regasification unit was welcomed but considered a setback in increasing capacity to import gas. Bangladesh’s current gas import capacity is 1,000mmcfd.

Bangladesh currently provides 2,700MW of gas, a quarter of it imported as liquefied natural gas, against the demand of 4,000MW.

While the import capacity remained unchanged, the domestic gas supply would remain the same in 2025 as it was in 2024, if not dropped, energy forecasts showed.

Gas accounts for 60 per cent of primary energy consumption.

Compared with the previous year, the gas supply to the power sector dropped to about 910 mmcfd in 2024 from 960 mmcfd in 2023.

‘The sad news is that the initiative that could have minimised import dependency for gas is still not in sight,’ said energy expert Badrul Imam.

Convinced about substantial gas reserve in the Bangladesh delta, Badrul has been calling on successive governments to scale up exploratory activities.

The latest move to attract foreign investors for offshore gas exploration fell flat in 2024. The recent political unrest is believed to have been behind the unwillingness of investors to engage in the gas exploration.

Uncertainty loomed over ensuring the supply of coal as well for the absence of long-term contract with international suppliers. The coal capacity use was about 37 per cent in 2024. The installed coal-based power generation capacity increased by more than 45 per cent in December 2024, compared with the same month in 2023.

Coal accounts for a fifth of the overall installed power capacity.

‘There is no guarantee the government can ensure uninterrupted coal supply this year,’ said Hasan Mehedi.

The challenges in the power and energy sector remained the same despite some positive developments in the sector taken by the interim government in 2024.

The act under which the power and energy projects were taken without bidding by the Hasina government over the past 14 years has been cancelled. The power of fixing tariffs was reinstated to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission.

On several occasions, the interim government announced, to the relief of ordinary people plagued by a sticky inflation for about three years, no more increase in the power price for now.

In about two weeks after winning its fourth term in office through a rigged election in 2024, the past AL regime had planned to increase the electricity price in phases by 81 per cent in 2024 to stop paying subsidy. The first phase of the increase by 5 per cent came in February 2024.

The regime, however, did not have the time to fully implement the plan as it was ousted by a student-led mass uprising on August 5.

The power price has been increased by 139 per cent since 2010-11 in 14 phases. But the overall comprehensive power sector loss is estimated to stand at Tk 79,720 crore at the end of the current financial year.

‘We must not forget that price increases do not help much. We need to correct our course to come out of the current situation,’ said Shafiqul Alam.​

 

[Saif]

Major gas price hike in the works for industrials

Industrial and captive power connections would soon have to pay a much higher tariff for gas usage after the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources decided in principle to implement a new pricing structure to reflect the fluctuating global market.

www.thedailystar.net

Major gas price hike in the works for industrials
BERC now assessing new pricing formula

Representational photo: Collected

Industrial and captive power connections would soon have to pay a much higher tariff for gas usage after the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources decided in principle to implement a new pricing structure to reflect the fluctuating global market.

Instead of a fixed rate, the new pricing structure will be based on the actual cost of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In line with the decision, Petrobangla yesterday submitted a proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to revise gas prices for industrial and captive power users.

If the BERC accepts the proposal, industrials and captive power users -- which refers to self-generated, gas-fired electricity within industries -- would have to pay Tk 75.72 per cubic meter for their gas use beyond the sanctioned load. At present, they pay a flat Tk 30.75 per cubic meter even if they breach their sanctioned load.

However, new industrial and captive connections will have to pay Tk 75.72 per cubic meter throughout.

Those who got the primary approval for new connections will have to pay 50 percent of their bills of sanctioned load at the existing rate and the rest at the new rate.

Under the proposed policy, the gas price will be determined by the cost of LNG imports calculated on the average expenditure of the previous three months' total costs -- including operational, transmission and distribution charges -- as well as contributions to gas development, energy security and research funds. A 15 percent VAT would be imposed too.

Between July and September 2024, Petrobangla imported a total of 1,726 million cubic meters of LNG for Tk 10,979 crore. The per cubic meter cost of LNG during that period was Tk 63.58, and after including all additional charges, the final cost per unit reached Tk 75.72.

The new proposal comes despite the government's earlier announcement that they would not fix the prices arbitrarily bypassing the BERC like the ousted Awami League government used to.

The AL government curtailed the BERC's power as regulator and increased the gas price for industries by more than 150 percent by themselves and fixed it at Tk 30 per unit. The gas price for captive users was also increased several times.

The move to initiate the gas price hike comes as the ministry looks to narrow the fiscal gap of Tk 16,162 crore this fiscal year.

If the price is not increased, the government will have to come up with subsidies, the proposal said.

BERC chairman Jalal Ahmed told The Daily Star that they are yet to start work on the proposal.

"We will take a decision based on our standard operating procedure," he said.

As per the BERC procedures, they have to announce their decision within the next 90 days after completing public hearings.

The new gas pricing structure could dampen enthusiasm for establishing new industries as the increased costs may make the ventures less economically viable, according to businesspeople.

"If the proposal is accepted, industrialisation will come to a halt," said Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, a major industrial gas user.

No new investment will come as the new units would not be able to compete with existing establishments with that much higher gas prices, he added.​

 

[Saif]

Transforming power sector for net zero

AS 2025 dawns, Bangladesh is shaping up its commitment to cut emissions under the Paris Agreement. While the South Asian country is trying to bring its economy and governance back on track, the moment is ripe to drive a major reorientation in the country’s energy and power sector. Reforms are...

www.newagebd.net

Transforming power sector for net zero
Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury 08 January, 2025, 00:00

AS 2025 dawns, Bangladesh is shaping up its commitment to cut emissions under the Paris Agreement. While the South Asian country is trying to bring its economy and governance back on track, the moment is ripe to drive a major reorientation in the country’s energy and power sector. Reforms are critical in this particular sector as its future pathway will have enormous consequences for our economy, environment and governance.

The needed shift involves transitioning from a fossil fuel-based energy mix to a green, renewable-based system. The economic case as well as the environmental rationale behind such a shift is indisputable. While Bangladesh has multiplied its power generation capacity over the years, surpassing the demand, the subsidies have become a drain on the national exchequer. Bangladesh has provided more than Tk 1,50,000 crore ($12.61 billion) as a subsidy to the power sector in the last decade — mainly due to poor planning and a faulty fuel mix.

At present, about 25 per cent of our electricity generation capacity and 12 per cent of total generation come from liquid fuels. The cost of power from these liquid fuel-based power plants is more than Tk 25 ($0.21) per unit, whereas the Bangladesh government sells bulk power at Tk 7 ($0.0588) per unit, marking a huge gap that is being met by subsidies. Moreover, the government has to pay the power producers an agreed amount of ‘capacity payment’ even when the power plants sit idle. The high costs of imports, the subsidy burden and the exorbitant capacity charges all make liquid fuel-based power an all-too-costly option for Bangladesh, in addition to their negative environmental footprint.

Renewable energy sources with adequate storage capacity could help Bangladesh get rid of a significant share of the costly liquid fuels. Solar and wind are proven to be the best renewable energy solutions for Bangladesh, with particular potential in the southern part of the country. All the studies show that solar photovoltaic technology will be the cheapest and largest contributor to electricity in the future for the whole world.

But for making that transition, three key bottlenecks — grid, incentives and policy — need to be urgently addressed.

Strong, smart, regional grid

A STRONG and smart grid infrastructure is essential for energy transition, whereas Bangladesh has a weak grid infrastructure for power evacuation. Vested interests often argue that liquid fuel-based plants are indispensable in light of the low voltage problem. We should instead ask the question: Did we delay enhancement of transmission infrastructure to support the liquid fuel plants?

With more variable renewable energy variable renewable energy being injected, grid stabilisation is a concern. Our grid flexibility study shows that we can have up to 20 per cent VRE without power cuts or hampering the grid stability significantly.

With a high-voltage transmission network, smart grid and energy storage, we can easily eliminate the grid-related problems.

Moreover, connecting with the regional grid will increase the flexibility of the national grid. Considering the current geopolitical situation, it is challenging to realise regional connectivity, but we should keep working. Apart from increasing the grid flexibility, the regional grid will support optimising the regional renewable energy potential.

Incentivising energy transition

HEAVY duties hinder the growth of solar photovoltaic in Bangladesh, which is becoming the cheapest source of electricity the world over. There is an 11 per cent import duty on solar panels, 38 per cent on inverters and 58 per cent on mounting structures and lithium batteries. There is a compelling case why these duties should be waived:

Bangladesh receives around Tk 50 crore ($4.20 million) as import duty from a 100MW solar photovoltaic equipment, which is a pittance compared to our present annual subsidy worth Tk 40,000 crore ($3.36 billion), going mainly to fossil fuel. A 100MW solar photovoltaic system will produce 2.4 TWh of electricity in its project life of 20 years. To produce the same amount of electricity from diesel, we need Tk 6,000 crore ($504.20 million) worth of diesel or Tk 4,000 crore ($336.13 million) worth of furnace oil or Tk 1,000 crore ($84.03 million) worth of coal at current market prices. Waiving import duties on imported solar PV equipment could help us replace the need for importing so much fossil fuel with our hard-earned foreign currency. Such a waiver would only be fair since fossil fuel-based power plants enjoyed duty-free import of equipment and 15 years of tax holidays in the past.

Other countries are sparing no means of incentivising renewable energy growth. Take the case of Vietnam, for example. The Southeast Asian country installed around 9,000MW of solar photovoltaic systems in 2020 alone, mainly from rooftop systems, by giving incentives in the form of feed-in tariffs. If this is not possible for us, we can consider other incentives.

We should inspire and allow all consumers, irrespective of phase or voltage level, to avail themselves of the facilities of the net energy metering guideline, including the 132kV and 230 kV consumers who are currently barred from net energy metering connection. The net energy metering guideline should include the following benefits: like the independent power producers, OPEX operators of net energy metering systems should enjoy tax holidays; the capacity limit of the net energy metering systems should be updated to its sanctioned load instead of 70 per cent of the sanctioned load; prosumers should be allowed to install RE systems at any part of the country and use electricity by providing a wheeling charge to the utilities; and industries inside the economic zones and export processing zones are not allowed to avail the benefits of net energy meterings. The economic zones and export processing zones now purchase power from utilities and sell it to the industries inside while keeping a certain profit margin. Rather than holding onto this profit, the zone authorities could get wheeling charges from the net energy metering users that could partly compensate for their current earnings from the current arrangement.

Enabling policies and ambitions

EVIDENCE-BASED and coherent policy will send a clear signal to investors, the industry and the citizens alike about the ambition, speed and modalities of Bangladesh’s energy transition. We should revise our policy documents to have coherent targets for renewable energy. The existing integrated energy and power master plan, IEPMP, which is replete with flaws like estimation of future power demand, lack of genuine renewable ambitions and promotion of questionable solutions, must be thoroughly revised.

In 2019, the UN Development Programme drafted a national solar energy roadmap and in the high case scenario, 30,000 MW solar photovoltaic capacity development by 2041 was recommended. This roadmap was not approved. We can revisit this document and with necessary revisions, we may approve it so that we can have a concrete, ambitious target. We should prepare a similar document for wind.

The plans and policies should also clarify how we will solve the land scarcity challenge. For example, each ground-mounted solar project should have a mandatory plan for other uses of land beneath it. Moreover, the policies should spell out enabling provisions like developing solar power hubs and transmission infrastructure up to the hubs that could significantly reduce the costs.

The last but no less important point is to stress on energy conservation and achieving energy efficiency, which is far easier than generating new power, while being a key pillar to achieving our net zero targets.

The energy and power sector lays the foundation for achieving Bangladesh’s economic aspirations as well as delivering better governance. Achieving a green and inclusive energy transition is essential for Bangladesh, a leader of the global south in global climate actions. No fossil fuel-based plants anymore — support renewables for our clean and green future.

Md Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury is the founding director of the Centre for Energy Research at United International University.​