[🇧🇩] Energy Security of Bangladesh

[Saif]

No load shedding expected in Ramadan: Adviser

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Wednesday hoped that there would be a power outage during the month of Ramadan. “A plan was taken to keep the country free from load shedding during the Ramadan. But some areas of the country might experience load shed

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

No load shedding expected in Ramadan: Adviser
BSS
Published :
Feb 05, 2025 19:28
Updated :
Feb 05, 2025 19:28

Advisor Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan addressed an inter-ministerial meeting at Bidyut Bhawan on Wednesday. Photo : BSS

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Wednesday hoped that there would be a power outage during the month of Ramadan.

“A plan was taken to keep the country free from load shedding during the Ramadan. But some areas of the country might experience load shedding during the summer,” he said.

Addressing an inter-ministerial meeting on power and energy supply during the upcoming Ramadan and irrigation season at Bidyut Bhaban, he said load shedding occurs due to various reasons.

“We have given instructions to avoid load shedding except for technical reasons,” the adviser said.

He said that the electricity demand during the summer and irrigation season has been estimated at 18,000 MW, out of which 6,000 MW is required for the cooling (AC) system.

“Around 900 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) gas is now being supplied for electricity generation, which will be 1200 mmcfd during Ramadan to produce additional electricity, Fouzul Kabir said.

The adviser said that the gas supply will be 1100 mmcfd from April to September (Summer Season). During the Ramadan, the electricity demand will be 15000 MW. But we have made preparations for an uninterrupted power supply.

If we can keep the AC temperature up to 25 or 26 degrees Celsius level, the demand will be reduced by 2000 to 3000 MW. And then there will be no need for load shedding, he said.

Fouzul Kabir said that load shedding happens due to a shortage of primary energy supply and technical reasons.

Meetings with concerned departments were held to ensure sure availability of funds and got assurance to procure necessary fuels for power generation during Ramadan.​

 

[Saif]

Industries reeling from persistent gas crisis

Industry insiders have said that due to years of interruption in gas supply, export-oriented industries and other manufacturing units were facing an acute crisis...

www.newagebd.net

Industries reeling from persistent gas crisis
Saddam Hossain 06 February, 2025, 22:47

A file photo shows a man working in a cotton textile mill. Industry insiders have said that due to years of interruption in gas supply, export-oriented industries and other manufacturing units were facing an acute crisis. | New Age photo

Industry insiders have said that due to years of interruption in gas supply, export-oriented industries and other manufacturing units were facing an acute crisis.

They also said that the country’s major industries, such as textiles, ceramics and the captive power plants of the readymade garment industry, require a gas pressure of 15 per square inch, but they usually get 2 or 3 PSI, even sometimes zero.

Factory units located at industrial hubs like Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Manikganj and Mymensingh are facing acute interruptions in the gas supply.

Moreover, the country cannot import sufficient LNG due to a reserve crunch, said the industry people.

The country requires around 4,000 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of gas, including imported energy. The current supply is under 3,000 MMcfd, leaving a supply deficit exceeding 1,000 MMcfd.

Talking to New Age, Showkat Aziz Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, said that 50 per cent of the textile mills had been closed due to a gas shortage.

‘Our loan is becoming classified as overdue in the bank is increasing. We yet to receive any instructions from Petrobangla or any other government authority,’ he added.

The government did not import fertiliser on time, and now it diverts gas to fertiliser factories, further worsening the situation.

The BTMA president urged the government to review contract signed under the previous regime according to the price index.

He also said that if the government does not take immediate action, the workers of the closed factories might take to the streets.

The ceramic industry is a fully gas-dependent process industry. Gas is considered a raw material and there is no alternative fuel to gas in this sector.

According to industry insiders, ceramic factories need a pressure of 15 PSI, but they experienced drops to as low as 2 or 3 PSI or even zero.

Talking to New Age, Moynul Islam, acting president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said that most of their factories run at 50 per cent of their total capacity.

‘Due to acute gas crisis, our sector is incurring loss of nearly Tk 300 crore per month. Even Petrobangla couldn’t share any measures or future prospects about the improvement of the situation,’ he added.

Petrobangla told them that the situation may improve soon only if adequate LNG was imported or if they can explore new gas fields.

‘In the last 9 years from 2015 to 2023, the authority hiked the gas price by about 345 per cent and in 2023, they increased the price by about 150 per cent and promised us to supply uninterrupted gas, but they can’t,’ Moynul said.

He also said that more than 50 registered ceramic companies had suspended their reinvestments due to the gas crisis alone, including five newly established factories that could not start production.

The readymade garment sector uses gas mainly to generate captive power. Due to the interruption in the gas supply, the industry is also facing multifaceted challenges.

Md Abul Kalam, managing director of Chaity Group and panel leader of Shammilita Parishad of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told New Age that due to the gas crisis, the sector’s production had decreased by about 25 per cent.

Moreover, as the textile sector has been affected, the RMG sector is also facing problems getting raw materials.

‘Since we generate power through gas in our sector, disruption in gas supply is also damaging our machinery, reducing its lifespan, increasing maintenance costs and damaging sensitive components,’ he added.

He also said that despite increasing the price of gas by almost twofold in 2023, the authorities were not able to supply gas uninterruptedly, as they promised.

In the last week of January, the apex trade bodies of the country’s major four industrial sectors, BGMEA, BKMEA, BTMA and BTTLMEA, sent a joint letter to Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

In the letter, the manufacturers said that the factories were operating on insufficient gas pressure and uncertainty and were suffering substantial financial losses.

The letter also stated that production in the industry-dense area had decreased by 50-60 per cent due to gas shortage, which has disrupted the supply chain and factories’ production.

Moreover, the timely supply of raw materials to the RMG sector cannot be ensured, which disrupts timely shipments.

Recently at an event at the ERF, the energy adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that the situation was unlikely to improve until new gas fields were developed in the country.

Despite repeated attempts, Petrobangla chairman Md Rezanur Rahman could not be reached for a comment regarding the situation.​

 

[Saif]

Interim govt’s energy policy echoes AL-era essence

THE interim government appears to be missing out on the chance to walk away from the power and energy policy that the previous Awami League government had continued since 2009 to offer predatory profits to independent and rental power producers. An absence of effective initiatives on part of the...

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Interim govt’s energy policy echoes AL-era essence
07 February, 2025, 00:00

THE interim government appears to be missing out on the chance to walk away from the power and energy policy that the previous Awami League government had continued since 2009 to offer predatory profits to independent and rental power producers. An absence of effective initiatives on part of the interim government, which has been in office for about six months, to rein in profiteers that the Awami League government had placed in the power and energy sector has already come to be criticised. Whilst the power plants set up then by profiteers continue to bleed the economy, at a time when the government is trying to bring about economic and other reforms, experts say that there are laws and ways to stop the profiteers from being unjustly benefited. But the interim government has maintained that the cancellation of the agreements is difficult. The signing of a non-binding agreement by the Investment Development Authority on January 24 with the Louisiana-based Argent LNG on the import of five million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year only comes as the expression of the interim government’s continuing with the Awami League-like power and energy policy.

Whilst experts say that the Argent agreement, replete with irregularities and flaws, could very well increase energy risks and unreliability, speakers at a seminar in Dhaka on February 5 said that the deal on liquefied natural gas import is nothing short of a reflection of how the Awami League government managed the sector that could perpetuate the reign of the syndicate of looters and the corrupt. The speakers have said that in the changed political context, the Argent agreement is a precursor to the continuation of what the Awami League did by allowing more than a hundred power projects under an energy indemnity law, sidestepping competitive processes. No tangible legal action against the Awami League-era power projects has so far been taken after the energy indemnity law was repealed in November 2024. The interim government could have had an exit from the flawed energy policy, but it took up a gas import project the way the Awami League did, which experts say is a surprise. The economic, environmental and public health consequences of the Awami League’s harmful power and energy projects appear to be getting a lease of life during the interim government.

The interim government should, therefore, review the agreement already signed and stop making such agreements in future.​

 

[Saif]

Govt must fish renewable energy sector out of ills

PROGRESS in the renewable energy sector, which has even failed to take off in 16 years since the adoption of the renewable energy policy in 2008, has been mired...

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Govt must fish renewable energy sector out of ills
03 April, 2024, 00:00

PROGRESS in the renewable energy sector, which has even failed to take off in 16 years since the adoption of the renewable energy policy in 2008, has been mired in inexperience and mismanagement, which has over the years let in a group of entities largely composed of owners of poultry business, feed mill, real estate trade, infrastructure development and construction, apparel factories, a medical college hospital and a human resources export agency. Experts, who blame the situation for a slow expansion of the renewable energy market and costs far higher than the global average, say that this has happened because of lucrative tariffs that promise high profits, mostly effected in an intransparent manner, holding off well-meaning companies that could meaningfully take the sector forward. Experts say that a solar power project should ideally take 13 months for completion, but because of what the sector is mired in, it takes years to begin the construction after the signing of the power purchase agreement with the Power Development Board. The whole process, as experts say, often involve hidden costs and much of lobbying which stops reputed entities from investing in renewable energy. There are only 10 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 459.3MW in operation while the government had plans for a 10 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2020.

The renewable energy sector in Bangladesh, as experts say, is too lucrative and it could attract investors of all kinds. This is why some investors in renewable energy are local giants that are also involved in the business of fossil fuel, which accounts for about 97 per cent of the installed power generation capacity of about 26.85GW. They are said to have earned millions of dollars in capacity payment, for the power not produced, and in other costs since 2008, as fossil fuel-based generation capacity has jumped more than five times since then. In such a situation, energy experts fear that the inordinate delay in the implementation of renewable energy projects, which spans up to eight years as is observed in Bangladesh projects, is deliberate as delayed renewable projects mean more use of fossil fuel and more profits. Renewable power tariff is also high keeping to global standards. The International Renewable Energy Agency in 2022 estimated the global average cost of solar power at Tk 5.42 a unit while tariff in Bangladesh ranges from Tk 7.68 to Tk 20.87, averaging more than Tk 10 a unit. An Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis expert says that reasonable solar power tariff in Bangladesh should be Tk 8.5 a unit, which can be reduced to Tk 6.5 with some government initiatives. Because of all such problems, not a single quality renewable power project has been implemented in more than a decade and a half.

The renewable energy sector, thus, appears to be another handle of the government to transfer public money to private pockets riding on ill designs and mismanagement. The government must, therefore, purge the energy sector of all ills without delay.​

 

[Saif]

Problem of gas shortage that govt should look into

INDUSTRIES, mainly export-oriented textile, ceramic, knitting and apparel, are reported to be in a difficult situation so much so that insiders say that production in most of the factories has almost...

www.newagebd.net

Problem of gas shortage that govt should look into
08 February, 2025, 00:18

INDUSTRIES, mainly export-oriented textile, ceramic, knitting and apparel, are reported to be in a difficult situation so much so that insiders say that production in most of the factories has almost halved because of continued gas shortage. About 4,000mmcfd of gas is required, but the current supply remains below 3,000mmcfd, leaving both government and industry authorities struggling. Factories located in industrial hubs of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Manikganj and Mymensingh do not receive uninterrupted gas supply. Many of the industries, especially ceramic industries, which require a supply with the pressure of 15 pounds per square inch, usually receive supply with the pressure of two to three pounds per square inch. Industry owners allege that the pressure sometimes declines to zero. The Textile Mills’ Association says that persistent gas shortage has already forced the closure of a half of the textile mills, noting that with no early action on part of the government, the situation would worsen in no time that could prompt the workers to take to the streets. Most of the industries say that they have been forced to run to half their capacity because of the gas shortage.

Owners further say that gas prices increased by about 345 per cent in nine years since 2015, with promises for an adequate supply, but it has not happened. Apparel factories which run on captive power plants say that the gas shortage has caused a 25 per cent decline in the sectoral production. Ceramic product manufacturers and exporters say that they count Tk 3 billion in losses every month because of the problem. The situation does not only affect production, harming product export, but also puts owners in distress in repaying bank loans, running the risk of becoming non-performing, damages machines and reduces their useful economic life, and increases maintenance costs. Four industry associations in January wrote to the government, seeking a resolution of the problem and describing the uncertainty and problems that the gas shortage has caused to the industries. Industry owners say that the government is diverting gas to fertiliser factories as it did not import fertiliser on time. This remains an issue for the government to look into. Petrobangla is reported to have envisaged no early improvement without adequate import of liquefied natural gas or gas extraction from new fields. The energy adviser has recently said that the situation at hand is unlikely to improve until new gas fields are developed.

A reserve crunch is holding back an adequate import of gas and no hydrocarbon exploration for long has only compounded the matter. The government should, therefore, tie loose ends here and there to improve the supply situation in the short run and earnestly get down to hydrocarbon exploration in the long run.​

 

[Saif]

India’s adani plant: Bangladesh asks for full power supply

Bangladesh has asked Adani Power to fully resume supplies from its 1,600-megawatt plant in India, a Bangladesh official said, after more than three months of reduced sales with supplies halved due to low winter demand and payment disputes.

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India’s adani plant: Bangladesh asks for full power supply

The logo of the Adani group is seen on the facade of one of its buildings on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, April 13, 2021. File photo: Reuters

Bangladesh has asked Adani Power to fully resume supplies from its 1,600-megawatt plant in India, a Bangladesh official said, after more than three months of reduced sales with supplies halved due to low winter demand and payment disputes.

Adani, which signed a 25-year contract under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2017, has been supplying power from its $2 billion plant in India's Jharkhand state. The plant, with two units each of 800 megawatts capacity, sells exclusively to Bangladesh.

The Indian company halved supply to Bangladesh on October 31 due to payment delays as the country battled a foreign exchange shortage. This led to the shutdown of one unit on November 1, resulting in the plant operating at about 42 percent capacity.

Subsequently, Bangladesh told Adani to keep supplying only half the power.

The state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said it had been paying $85 million a month to Adani to clear outstanding dues and has now told the company to resume supply from the second unit.

"As per our requirement today, they have planned to synchronise the second unit, but due to the high vibration, it didn't happen," BPDB Chairperson Md Rezaul Karim told Reuters, referring to some technical problems that stopped the unit from restarting on Monday.

"Right now, we are making a payment of $85 million per month. We are trying to pay more, and our intention is to reduce the overdue. Now there is no big issue with Adani."

BPDB and Adani officials were due to meet virtually yesterday following another meeting recently to work out various issues between them, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

An Adani Power spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In December, an Adani source said BPDB owed the company about $900 million, while Karim said at the time the amount was only about $650 million.

The pricing dispute revolves around how power tariffs are calculated, with the 2017 agreement pricing off an average of two indexes. Adani's power costs Bangladesh about 55 percent more than the average of all Indian power sold to Dhaka, Reuters has reported.

A Bangladesh court has ordered an examination of the contract with Adani by a committee of experts, with results expected this month. This could potentially lead to contract renegotiations.

Last year, Bangladesh's interim government accused Adani of breaching the power-purchase agreement by withholding tax benefits that the Jharkhand plant received from New Delhi, Reuters reported in December citing documents. Bangladesh officials also said they were reviewing the contract.

A spokesperson for Adani told Reuters at the time that it had upheld all contractual obligations with Bangladesh and had no indication Dhaka was reviewing the contract.

Karim has not replied to Reuters' questions on whether the two sides have resolved their differences.

In November, US prosecutors indicted Adani Group founder Gautam Adani and seven other executives for their alleged role in a $265 million bribery scheme in India. Adani Group has called the US allegations "baseless".

In September, the Bangladesh government appointed a panel of experts to examine major energy deals signed by Hasina, who fled to New Delhi in August after deadly student-led protests.​

 

[Saif]

SPECIAL ENERGY FUNDS: Most of Tk 53,000cr misused by AL govt

Most of the special energy funds worth Tk 53,000 crore was misused by the Sheikh Hasina government, ousted in August past year amid a mass uprising, through breaching policies and guidelines during its 15 years of authoritarian regime.

www.newagebd.net

SPECIAL ENERGY FUNDS: Most of Tk 53,000cr misused by AL govt
Emran Hossain 11 February, 2025, 23:31

Most of the special energy funds worth Tk 53,000 crore was misused by the Sheikh Hasina government, ousted in August past year amid a mass uprising, through breaching policies and guidelines during its 15 years of authoritarian regime.

The funds — power sector development fund, gas development fund and energy security fund — were created with money kept aside from gas and electricity sales every month.

Reducing power and energy sector expenses by investing in least-cost power production, natural gas exploration and production and energy efficiency was the main target of creating the funds.

Until June past year, except for the amounts stuck in different stages of transaction and money deducted as tax, the aggregate size of the three funds was Tk 47,700 crore.

Of the amount, 97 per cent was used by the ousted AL government, showed Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission data, and about three-fourths of it was spent breaking the policies and guidelines stipulating the use of the funds.

Only Tk 1,500 crore was found with the funds operated by the Bangladesh Power Development Board, Petrobangla and BERC at the end of past financial year.

The use of the funds featured huge imports of liquefied natural gas with 44 per cent of the money or Tk 21,000 crore spent for the purpose. LNG import is blamed for plunging Bangladesh, to a great extent, into the dollar crisis and unprecedented inflation that have been around for over two years.

‘The past government did not care for any rules or laws in conducting its affairs. People never enjoyed the benefits of creating the funds,’ said M Shamasul Alam, energy adviser at the Consumers Association of Bangladesh.

The oldest of the funds, Gas Development Fund, was created on August 1, 2009, immediately after the past government had assumed power and increased the gas price by 11.22 per cent. The fund was created by keeping aside Tk 0.42 from the proceeds of selling a cubic metre of gas.

A good portion of the GDF, which was Tk 20,000 crore, was used for paying tax, though the fund was originally created under the condition of not being taxable.

Highlighting the trend of a rapid depletion in the reserve of gas, accounting for 73 per cent of commercial energy consumption, the GDF policy primarily focused on enhancing natural gas exploration and production.

Exploration projects used Tk 6,800 crore from the fund managed by the Petrobgangla.

In complete violation of the GDF policy, Tk 6,000 crore was taken as loan by the government from the fund for importing LNG.

Petrobangla data showed that past year the import of LNG to meet about a third of the gas demand raised the overall cost of gas by five folds.

Past year Petrobangla bought a unit of gas from state-owned oil companies at Tk 1.5 while the cost of buying the same amount of gas from international oil companies lifting gas from local fields stood at Tk 4.5. The import cost of a unit of LNG, on the other hand, was Tk 62. Imported LNG is blended with local natural gas for supply through the national grid.

‘Spending the GDF for LNG import despite frequent gas price increases was against all logic,’ said Shafiqul Alam, lead energy analyst, Bangladesh at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Since the beginning of LNG import in 2018, household consumers have seen their gas bills rise up to 35 per cent while hotels and restaurants have observed a 79 per cent rise in their prices. Industries, however, saw a 179 per cent increase in the gas prices in one go past year. The price hikes were always justified with increased expenses for LNG import.

‘A careful assessment is needed to find out what necessitated the use of the GDF for LNG import,’ said Shafiqul.

Energy experts have long expressed their frustration over the government’s reluctance to explore its own resources, particularly gas reserve, which is believed to be in abundance in the offshore. The reluctance is often linked to strong influence by global fossil fuel lobby, dictating Bangladesh’s power and energy policy over the past two decades.

Petrobangla even transferred Tk 3,000 crore from the GDF to the national exchequer under the controversial special law allowing the government to take away fund sitting idle with state-owned entities. The law, surplus fund act, came into force in 2022 when the past government was battling with a severe economic crisis.

The requirement of taking BERC permission to invest the GDF fund was never fulfilled.

The power sector development fund was created on February 1, 2011 by channelling Tk 0.15 on each unit of bulk electricity sales. The amount that the fund had available for use was Tk 15,700 crore until June past year.

Created with the objective to be invested in low-cost power generation projects, Tk 5,060 crore from the fund was used in five power generation projects, including Tk 1,184 crore going to the project of the coal-based 1,320MW Payra power plant.

A key condition of using the PSDF was that it ensures low-cost power generation. But projects taken under the fund added to the BPDB’s financial burden, particularly due to capacity charge entitlement of the power plants that were not needed in the first place. The past government even could not match the construction of the Payra power plant with required transmission network, keeping it idle for over one year.

The BPDB also took Tk 10,257 crore as loan from the PSDF.

‘Taking loan from the PSDF was the most outrageous move,’ said Shamasul Alam.

‘First, state-owned BPDB took a loan illegally from a fund created with money taken directly from the people’s pocket, and then it passed the responsibility of paying back the loan onto the shoulder of people,’ he observed.

He said that the use of the fund in coal-based power plants went against the spirit that led to the formation of the fund. The fund was primarily meant to be used for gas-based and renewable power generation.

No significant renewable energy investment was made under the PSDF.

Created on September 1, 2015, Tk 15,200 crore was deposited with the energy security fund until June past year. The fund received Tk 0.40 from per cubic metre of gas sales. Almost the entire fund — Tk 15,000 crore — was used for importing LNG on loans.

Established on April 10, 2018, the ESF guidelines said that its main goal was to protect future generation from potential energy crisis arising from using up natural gas reserve. The fund permitted LNG import, but said that it could also be used for the purpose of exploration, extraction, purification, transmission and distribution of natural gas.

The fund, also operated by the Petrobangla, could be used for achieving energy efficiency.

BERC officials said that interests on loans taken from the funds remained largely unpaid, without the authorities even caring to explain their decision of not paying back loans.

‘Energy funds’ administration is a microcosm of how things were done in the power and energy sector during AL’s regime,’ said Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development, a platform of green activists.​

 

[Saif]

Adani reports machine trouble after Dhaka seeks full supply

The 1,346MW coal-based Adani power plant reported encountering technical trouble in starting its second unit following Bangladesh’s request to run the power plant in India’s Jharkhand at its full capacity.

www.newagebd.net

Adani reports machine trouble after Dhaka seeks full supply
Staff Correspondent 11 February, 2025, 23:34

The 1,346MW coal-based Adani power plant reported encountering technical trouble in starting its second unit following Bangladesh’s request to run the power plant in India’s Jharkhand at its full capacity.

The Adani power plant shut down one of its two units in early November after Bangladesh failed to clear its dues, the amount of which is debated by the two parties.

Bangladesh is expecting a surge in its power demand soon with the last month of the winter season passing amid forecast of the temperature soon going up.

‘There was a technical problem after Adani had started full operation on February 10, a day after we made the request to increase their supply,’ Bangladesh Power Development Board’s chairman Rezaul Karim told New Age.

A special team of engineers is expected to examine the problem today, he said, adding that the starting of full operation depended on fixing the technical glitch.

Bangladesh owes $550 million to Adani, the boss of the state-owned BPDB said.

A request sent to the company responsible for Adani’s public relations for a comment over the matter was not answered.

Earlier in September, last year the group’s chairman Gautam Adani wrote to interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus to clear his $800 million outstanding bills.

On Tuesday, Adani supplied about 740MW of electricity, maintaining the level of supply since it reduced its supply citing non-payment of dues in early November last year.

The BPDB officials said that they were making regular payments but there were some controversies that they expected to resolve through negotiations.

Bangladesh expressed its surprise and shock after Adani gave a fresh deadline to get a road map on the payment of its dues by November 7 or face complete suspension in power supply.

This was the second deadline given by the company. The earlier deadline expired on October 31, leading to the suspension of one of the two units.

Experts said that Bangladesh could have managed its power demand without receiving any supply from the Adani power plant had it provided enough supply of fuel for other plants.

The dollar crisis is standing in the way of providing uninterrupted energy supply to power plants.

While issuing the second deadline, Adani claimed that its outstanding bill amounted to $850million, Indian media reported.

Bangladesh at the time said that the actual amount was over $600 million.

Power deal signed with Adani has been described as hugely discriminatory by energy experts.

Bangladesh would have to buy 34 per cent of electricity of the plant’s capacity or would have to face fines under the deal with Adani.

Even if Bangladesh had bought the required amount, the country would have to pay capacity charge.

The agreement has also deprived Bangladesh of taking any action if Adani abruptly suspends its operation.

The power development board has already accused Adani of inflating its bill by about a third taking advantage of the power purchase agreement signed under the direct supervision of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, ousted on August 5 amid a student-led mass uprising, and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

The agreement, which allowed Adani to greatly manipulate coal prices also made headlines in the national and international media for clauses highly discriminatory to Bangladesh. Under the PPA, the plant was established with a $2 billion investment to earn Adani $12 billion in its lifetime of 25 years.

Bangladesh’s current installed capacity is 27,884MW.

The current maximum demand is around 11,500MW. The demand is set to rapidly rise by March, when the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is set to begin.

Even with the demand remaining so low, nearly 100MW of load shedding was recorded on Tuesday.

Immediately after Hasina fled to India after the overthrow of her government, India changed its power export rules allowing Adani, which set up the power plant exclusively for producing power for Bangladesh, to sell electricity domestically.​

 

[Saif]

13-hr gas outage to hit parts of Dhaka on Thursday

A 13-hour gas outage is set to hit several parts of Dhaka from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, according to the Titas Gas authorities. The outage will affect the Kurmitola Hospital, Hotel Radisson, RPGCL, Dhaka Regency, Khilkhet, Concord City (until the river side), the Le Meridien Dhaka hot

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

13-hr gas outage to hit parts of Dhaka on Thursday
Published :
Feb 12, 2025 12:03
Updated :
Feb 12, 2025 12:03

A 13-hour gas outage is set to hit several parts of Dhaka from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, according to the Titas Gas authorities.

The outage will affect the Kurmitola Hospital, Hotel Radisson, RPGCL, Dhaka Regency, Khilkhet, Concord City (until the river side), the Le Meridien Dhaka hotel, Balaka Bhaban, Haji Camp, Kawla's Airport Catering House, Civil Aviation Quarters, and surrounding areas from 1:00 pm on Thursday to 2:00 am on Friday, according to a statement on Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

The Titas Gas authorities say that the gas supply will be suspended due to the transfer and readjustment of a gas pipeline for the underground sections of the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited metro rail MRT Line-1’s Airport and Khilkhet stations.

“In addition, the gas pressure may remain low near Joar Sahara, Nikunja and nearby areas,” the statement said.

Titas Gas has apologised to its customers for the temporary inconvenience caused by the outage.​

 

[Saif]

Rampal power plant shuts down

The 1320-MW Rampal power plant, a joint venture between state-owned power companies of India and Bangladesh, shut down early Friday, drawing on the force majeure clause of the power purchase agreement between the parties.

www.newagebd.net

Rampal power plant shuts down
Staff Correspondent 16 February, 2025, 00:35

Rampal power plant | File photo

The 1320-MW Rampal power plant, a joint venture between state-owned power companies of India and Bangladesh, shut down early Friday, drawing on the force majeure clause of the power purchase agreement between the parties.

Ziaur Rahman, the chief procurement officer of the Bangladesh India Friendship Company Limited which owns the power plant, confirmed the closure due to the coal shortage linked to the ongoing dollar crisis.

‘We are trying an alternate way to bring in fresh supply of coal as soon as possible,’ said Zia.

The full operation of each of the two units – 660MW – of the power plant requires around 6,000 tonnes of coal daily. The power plant exhausted its coal supply completely.

A new coal import deal might take over a month to complete, raising the ominous prospect of the power plant remaining out of operation through the second half of March when days would start getting hotter.

The power plant officials, however, are confident about bringing the power plant back to operation in about a week.

The state-owned Janata Bank, responsible for transactions on behalf of the BIFCL, was failing to release enough dollar for coal purchase, officials at the power plant claimed.

The exchange rate of the dollar fixed by the Bangladesh Bank is lower than the rate at which the JB can buy it from the market, they said.

The closure of the plant occurred amid another base-load 1,496-MW coal power plant, owned by India’s Adani group,

operating at half the capacity, reporting machine problems.

The Godda-based Adani power plant has been supplying around 700MW since September 2024, threatening to stop supplying power unless its due worth $800 million was paid.

Frequent closures have accompanied the Rampal power plant ever since it rolled into operation with its first unit in December 2022. By September 2023, the plant was shut down eight times, including five times for technical problems.

Electrical engineers highlighted the plant’s inability to burn the minimum amount of fuel that a base-load power plant must keep for running smoothly as one of the causes leading to the closures.

They also called for testing the plant’s machinery and the quality of coal burnt there.

Restarting a base-load power plant frequently means burning additional fuel, which is particularly harmful to countries such as Bangladesh, particularly when in the midst of the dollar crisis.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, India’s largest government-owned power generation equipment manufacturer, built the power plant at a cost of $2 billion, including $1.6 billion provided as loans by the Exim Bank of India.

This is, however, the first time the Rampal power plant is closed drawing on the force majeure clause, which relieves parties in the deal of the requirement of compensating each other because of a disruption in daily business activity.

‘The clause generally refers to a situation beyond the control of any of the parties in the deal disrupting daily business,’ said Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development member secretary Hasan Mehedi.

The previous closures were always attributed to fuel shortages or technical problems, implying the power plant’s eligibility to receive capacity charge.

With the force majeure clause in effect, the Rampal power plant will not get capacity charge. The clause, theoretically, can remain in effect for six months.

Widespread violations of environmental regulation recently steered the media spotlight on the Rampal power plant, especially for the power plant for months not using effluent treatment plant and releasing used water directly into nearby rivers.

Bangladesh’s current installed power generation capacity is 27884.7MW. But the inability to generate about 11,500MW resulted in frequent power cuts even during winter.

The power demand is expected to exceed 17,500MW in summer.​

 

[Saif]

Govt urged to follow SL to get rid of Adani power

The South Asia Just Transition Alliance, a platform of green activists in South Asia, called on the Bangladesh government to be inspired by Sri Lanka to exit from the discriminatory power purchase deal with the Adani Power.

www.newagebd.net

Govt urged to follow SL to get rid of Adani power
Staff Correspondent 16 February, 2025, 01:35

The South Asia Just Transition Alliance, a platform of green activists in South Asia, called on the Bangladesh government to be inspired by Sri Lanka to exit from the discriminatory power purchase deal with the Adani Power.

They made the call in a press release issued on February 14, expressing their satisfaction and thanking the Sri Lankan government for taking strict measures leading the Adani Group to cancel its 482MW controversial wind power project in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

Adani Green Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Group, had signed a Power Purchase Agreement in May 2024 to build and operate the wind power project for 20 years.

The project was approved opposing vehement opposition from local people and environmental activists due to its potential adverse environmental and social impacts.

The Centre for Environmental Justice and the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society, and two other groups of environmental experts filed separate cases with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka challenging the Environmental Impact Assessment and expressing concerns about the energy sovereignty and its severe impact on migratory birds.

According to a study, ‘Neither Clean Nor Green’, jointly conducted by the South Asia Just Transition Alliance and CEJ, 15 million migratory birds take refuge in Sri Lanka’s coastal zones.

The study also found that faulty power plant design might increase floods and affect the 72,000 inhabitants of Mannar Island.

The project might also affect the economy of Sri Lanka.

According to the PPA, Adani was to supply electricity at $0.0826 per kWh, 192 per cent higher than the tariff for Indian wind power ($0.043).

The Sri Lankan government started reviewing the project in response to criticism, protests and a court case.

Finally, the Ministry of Energy revoked the agreement and formed a committee to review the entire project again.

On February 12, 2025, the AGEL informed the Sri Lankan Board of Investment that it would withdraw the project.

Hemantha Withanage, Chairperson of the Centre for Environmental Justice, stated that this was a significant achievement for environmentally concerned citizens of the country.

Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of SAJTA, said, ‘The Bangladesh Government should take similar actions on Adani’s Godda coal power plant as the unsolicited agreement signed by the previous government contained many flaws.’

He mentioned that Adani had already violated the agreement by hiding the tax exemption information in India.​

 

[Saif]

Diesel transfer underway via Dhaka-Ctg fuel pipeline

Godnail depot to receive diesel by Tuesday; project expected to save around Tk 250 crores annually

www.thedailystar.net

Diesel transfer underway via Dhaka-Ctg fuel pipeline
Godnail depot to receive diesel by Tuesday; project expected to save around Tk 250 crores annually

The initial process of supplying fuel oil through a pipeline from Chattogram to the Dhaka region has begun.

Already, 20 million litres of diesel have been pumped from the Eastern Refinery in Chattogram. Experts refer to this process as "line packing."

The diesel is expected to reach Godnail on Tuesday. Later, it will be transported to the Fatullah depot.

Project director of the pipeline project, Md Aminul Haque, told The Daily Star, "The transfer of diesel from the Chattogram end started on February 11. It has already crossed Cumilla. A total of 31.7 million litres of diesel will be required to fill the entire pipeline."

He further stated that after the line packing is completed, fuel oil will be officially supplied to the Godnail and Fatullah depots via the pipeline in March.

He remarked that with this project, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation has entered a new era of fuel oil supply.

BPC officials said in addition to preventing fuel wastage and theft, the pipeline, which has a capacity of supplying 27 million litres of fuel oil, will save BPC around Tk 250 crores annually.

The BPC undertook this project in 2018.

Although the project was initially scheduled for completion by June 30, 2020, delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and other complexities postponed the work until 2022.​