[🇧🇩] Energy Security of Bangladesh

[Saif]

Power sector managers need to ensure quality control

THE absence of a quality control mechanism in the power sector has led to extra fuel costs in power generation. A recent Power Development Board analysis shows that some plants consume up to 90 per cent more fuel than others do. The finding indicates an overall power management failure in...

www.newagebd.net

Power sector managers need to ensure quality control
01 May, 2025, 00:00

THE absence of a quality control mechanism in the power sector has led to extra fuel costs in power generation. A recent Power Development Board analysis shows that some plants consume up to 90 per cent more fuel than others do. The finding indicates an overall power management failure in stopping the leak of the already scanty supplies of imported fuels. Experts say that factors such as the import and transport cost, the dollar exchange rate, plant factor and, especially, the quality of machines that contribute to varying degrees of fuel consumption, exist in the power sector. During the Awami League regime, when the power sector experienced a lopsided development, driven by an abnormally high overcapacity and an absurd capacity charge system, many party loyalists were rewarded with power projects without tender under the now-repealed indemnity law, with the power sector investors choosing their machines while quality control mechanisms did not exist. Independent power plants exploited the situation and brought used machines that led to the over-consumption of fuels and frequent shutdown of plants. The public power plants also used more fuels as they were poorly maintained. The scenario has not yet changed.

The frequent shutdowns of power plants, not only the old ones but also new ones, because of technical glitches show the absence of quality checks. For example, the first unit of the 1,320MW coal-fired Rampal plant, a Bangladesh-India joint venture, shut down eight times in the first nine months after it started running in December 2022. The plant, where per-unit fuel cost is 28 per cent higher than a similar power plant, was available for only 18 per cent of the time this January, according to the power board. Frequent shutdowns and resumptions of the plants require extra fuel. The fuel cost in the Tongi Power Plant is 47 per cent higher compared with the average cost of fuel in similar plants. Many other plants have continued to operate at a little fraction of their capacity. Among gas-based plants, as the power board analysis shows, the average fuel costs of public plants are about 20 per cent higher than that of independent power plants, largely because of old machines that have served out their economic life. So is the case with oil- and coal-based public power plants. Some independent power plants, including Adani and Summit’s, also have high fuel costs riding on unequal power deals.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh substantially reduces its outstanding dues to Adani

Bangladesh has substantially reduced its outstanding dues to India's Adani Power related to a power-supply deal, and the company is confident of recovering the roughly $900 million still remaining, its chief financial officer said. According to Reuters, Bangladesh has struggled to pay its dues per

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Bangladesh substantially reduces its outstanding dues to Adani
Dilip Jha, chief financial officer of the India-based company, tells Reuters
FE ONLINE DESK
Published :
May 02, 2025 18:13
Updated :
May 02, 2025 18:17

Bangladesh has substantially reduced its outstanding dues to India's Adani Power related to a power-supply deal, and the company is confident of recovering the roughly $900 million still remaining, its chief financial officer said.

According to Reuters, Bangladesh has struggled to pay its dues per the deal, signed in 2017, as imports got costly since the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 and amid the domestic political turmoil last August that led to the ouster of the country's prime minister.

As a result, Adani had halved supply last year but CFO Dilip Jha said the company has resumed full supply since as the country's monthly payments started covering some of the dues.

"We are supplying full power to Bangladesh ... the payment we are receiving now is more than the monthly billing," Jha said in a post-earnings call with analysts on Thursday.

"We are hopeful that not only will we continue to receive payments equivalent to the current month's billing, but that the old outstanding dues will also be liquidated."

The company said Bangladesh has paid nearly $1.2 billion of the roughly $2 billion totally billed to the country.​

 

[Saif]

Gas crisis in industries as supply increased in power sector

The supply of gas has been increased in the electricity sector cutting down on the supply of that to the industrial and residential sectors.

en.prothomalo.com

Gas crisis in industries as supply increased in power sector
The supply of gas is lower than the demand. On top of that supply of gas to the power plants has been increased to cut down on load shedding.

Mohiuddin Dhaka
Published: 29 Apr 2025, 08: 41

Machineries at a dye factory remain idle due to gas crisis. Photo taken in BCIC Industrial Estate in Fatullah, Narayanganj. Prothom Alo

The demand for electricity is at its highest during summer. When production of electricity cannot meet the demand, there has to be power load shedding. The government this time, however, has been trying to limit the load shedding.

So, the electricity generation has been increased to keep the supply of electricity uninterrupted. To maintain this production, the supply of gas has been increased in the electricity sector, cutting down on the supply of that to the industrial and residential sectors.

Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) sources say that the daily demand of gas in the country stands at 3.8 billion (380 crore) cubic feet. The demand can somewhat be met when there’s a supply of 3 billion (300 crore) cubic feet. Then the situation is managed by rationing (by reducing the supply in one sector and increasing in another).

At present there is a supply of 2.7 billion (270 crore) cubic feet. Of that, 1.05 billion (105 crore) cubic feet is being supplied to the power plants.

The power sector is now considered with highest priority. As a result, the gas crisis has widened for the residential and industrial clients.

The largest gas distribution company, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution, supplies gas to Dhaka, Gazipur, Mymensingh and Narayanganj regions.

Officials of this company say that their daily demand is 1.9 billion (190 crore) cubic feet. Currently, they are receiving about 1.52 to 1.53 billion (152 to 153 crore) cubic feet.

During times of such supply before, they could provide a maximum of 230 million (23 crore) cubic feet to the power sector. Now they have to provide 360 to 370 million (36 to 37 crore) cubic feet in this sector. This has created a shortage of 130 to 140 million (13 to 14 crore) cubic feet in the industrial and residential sectors. There is a shortage of gas in the industry even during the normal times. Now it has increased even more.

Even though the industrial customers pay higher prices, the power sector has to be prioritised in gas supply. Two more cargoes of LNG ships would have to be imported to meet the demand.
Director of operations and mines at the Petrobangla, Md Rafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo that the supply of gas to the power sector has been increased and this has created a bit of shortage. Local gas production might increase a bit within a day or two.

The idea of increasing LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) import is also being pondered upon, he added.

The country once produced 2.7 billion (270 crore) cubic feet of gas every day. Then the LNG import started in 2018 when the production started declining. The daily production has now dropped to 1.84 billion (184 crore) cubic feet.

Though the LNG import has increased than before, it is still not sufficient. About 800 to 850 million (80 to 85 crore) cubic feet of gas is supplied daily from the imported LNG.

A Petrobangla official stated that the company earns Tk 22.87 from selling per unit of gas while they are now spending an average of more than Tk 27 on the same unit.

Although gas is sold to the industry sector for Tk 30 per unit, the price of gas in the power sector is Tk 14.75.

Even though the industrial customers pay higher prices, the power sector has to be prioritised in gas supply. Two more cargoes of LNG ships would have to be imported to meet the demand.

This will increase the amount of losses for Petrobangla. However, more cargoes can be imported if the Power Development Board (PDB) pays a price of Tk 27.

Narayanganj and Gazipur, the two districts next to Dhaka, are mainly known as industrial zones. Most of the export-oriented readymade garment factories are located here. Production in these factories has been disrupted for a long time due to the gas crisis. It has turned even worse in the last two weeks.

Manager (transmission and distribution) of Titas Gas in Gazipur Md Redwan told Prothom Alo that the demand of gas in Gazipur stands now at 600 million (60 crore) cubic feet but only 350 million (35 crore) cubic feet is supplied.

According to industrial police data, there are a total of 2,176 factories in Gazipur district. Out of them, 1,187 are garment factories.

The number of small and large factories there would increase to about 5,000 if the unlicensed ones are counted in. Most of these factories are gas-powered.

Sohel Rana, Director of Sadma Group located in Mouchak area of Gazipur, told Prothom Alo that the gas pressure needs to be between 10 to 15 PSI (pound per square inch) for the factory to be running. But, there has not been more than two to three PSI of gas pressure in the last 15 days. Our production has been slashed by 30 to 40 per cent from this.

Deputy General Manager at Titas Gas’ Narayanganj office, Mamunur Rashid told Prothom Alo that the industrial and residential clients are receiving less amount of gas in some parts due to low supply.

MS Dyeing Printing and Finishing Limited, situated in BSCIC Industrial Estate in Fatullah of Narayanganj, has a production capacity of 40 tonnes. However, their production has dropped to 10 tonnes.

The company sent a letter to Titas on 23 April mentioning the matter of commercial losses caused from the low gas pressure.

While visiting the factory Sunday afternoon, the boiler was found shut and the gas pressure reading showed zero PSI. Another factory in BSCIC Industrial Estate, Fare Apparels Limited was out of production since morning and the workers were found sitting idle.

Research director at non-government research organisation, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Khondaker Golam Moazzem told Prothom Alo that managing the energy supply crisis is a major challenge for the government.

They have to take the social, economic and political aspects into consideration, he advised.

According to him, the government must not go for increased LNG import to strike a balance in gas supply. “We need to emphasise on exploring and producing gas domestically.”

[Prothom Alo correspondents in Gazipur and Narayanganj have helped prepare this report.]

* The report, originally published in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Nourin Ahmed Monisha​

 

[Saif]

Matarbari power as expensive as peers

The power tariff of the coal-fired 1,200-megawatt Matarbari power plant is going to be as high as its peers, observed energy experts, saying that the government-approved power tariff made it appear as if the tariff was lower than that of the electricity purchased from...

www.newagebd.net

Matarbari power as expensive as peers
Tariff could exceed Tk 13 a unit
Emran Hossain 03 May, 2025, 00:45

The power tariff of the coal-fired 1,200-megawatt Matarbari power plant is going to be as high as its peers, observed energy experts, saying that the government-approved power tariff made it appear as if the tariff was lower than that of the electricity purchased from similar power plants.

On April 29, the advisory committee on government purchase approved the public power plant’s power tariff at Tk 8.44 a kilowatt-hour or 7.6621 US cents a kWh, with Tk 5.84 a kWh spent as fuel cost and Tk 2.60 a kWh given as capacity charge.

An official document showed that the rates of fuel use and capacity charge were determined considering that the power plant operated at 85 per cent of its capacity.

The document also showed that the calculation considered the dollar exchange rate to be Tk 110.25.

The dollar exchange rate is crucial in determining the tariff since power plants depend on fuel import for their production and their capacity charge is paid mostly in the dollar. The current dollar rate, according to the Bangladesh Bank, is Tk 122.

‘Considering the dollar rate at such a low level in the calculation is misleading,’ said Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development, a forum of rights activists and organisations.

‘The tariff of coal-based power plant is tough to determine for it involves so many issues and uncertainties,’ he said.

An analysis done past year by the Bangladesh Power Development Board revealed that the average fuel cost among all coal-fired power plants in the country was Tk 7.02, more than 16 per cent higher than what the newly approved Matarbari tariff allowed.

The fuel cost varied greatly depending mainly on machine quality, coal quality and the operational period of power plants. For instance, the fuel cost in a unit of the Barapukuriya power plant was Tk 12.30, the PDB analysis showed.

In joint venture coal-based power plants, the fuel cost ranged between Tk 6.67 and Tk 7.84. The coal-fired independent power plants’ fuel cost ranged between Tk 6.26 and Tk 6.75.

For an ultra-supercritical coal power plant, the technology of which is also used in Matarbari, the BPDB’s fuel cost stood at Tk 6.77.

The fuel cost could vary greatly due to the high vulnerability of the international fuel market. During the Covid pandemic, the price of a tonne of coal reached $400. The current price of coal is below $100 a tonne.

The BPDB analysis also revealed that the average government-set cost stood at Tk 4.63 past year, nearly 45 per cent higher than what the Matarbari was allowed to get.

‘The plant availability factor could influence the power tariff,’ said Shafiqul Alam, lead energy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a research organisation.

Power tariff goes up if the plant’s capacity remains unutilised, energy analysts said, given that the capacity charge is paid anyway. Increased utilisation contributes greatly to decreasing tariff, they said.

In 2023-24, according to the BPDB, the average plant availability among the coal-based power plants was 35.25 per cent.

The plant factor of the Adani coal power plant, which is supplying electricity from India, was 62.32 per cent, which was the second highest plant factor after import with 85 per cent plant factor.

Power plants in Bangladesh have never run at 85 per cent of their capacity in recent time.

The ongoing dollar crisis is a major reason for keeping power plants idle due to lack of fuel supply.

The BWGED estimated that the Matarbari power plant would actually get Tk 2,565 crore a year at the current dollar exchange rate.

If the plant availability dropped to 60 per cent, the BWGED said that at the newly announced tariff per unit of production cost at the Matarbari power plant would stand at Tk 10.55.

The tariff would increase to Tk 13.14 if the plant availability dropped to 37 per cent, which was the average plant availability of Barapukuria and Payra power plants between the financial years of 2020-21 and 2023-24.

The average coal power tariff in 2023-24 was Tk 12.74.

ANM Obaidullah, member of the BPDB, said that the government-approved tariff was determined based on the dollar exchange rate the day the plant rolled into commercial operation.

‘This is the base price,’ said Obaidullah.

‘Depending on situations, the tariff could be changed,’ he said, saying that power tariffs were paid after evaluation based on the actual situation.

Unlike the other power plants, the Matarbari power plant started its operation without having signed a power purchase agreement.

The first unit of the Matarbari power plant started commercial operation in December 2023 and the second unit started operation in August 2024.

So far the plant has received only the fuel cost for running its operation.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh to buy six spot LNG cargoes in May

The government is eyeing importing a total of six spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in May, the highest number in a single month, to meet mounting summer demand. State-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) already bought five spot LNG cargoes for May delivery windows, a senior R

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Bangladesh to buy six spot LNG cargoes in May
FE ONLINE REPORT
Published :
May 03, 2025 19:11
Updated :
May 03, 2025 19:11

The government is eyeing importing a total of six spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in May, the highest number in a single month, to meet mounting summer demand.

State-run Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) already bought five spot LNG cargoes for May delivery windows, a senior RPGCL official told The Financial Express on Saturday.

He said the RPGCL’s tender to buy one more spot LNG cargo in the May 30-31 delivery window is also open, along with two more spot LNG cargo tenders for the June 26-27 and July 2-3 delivery windows.

The country’s energy demand has gone up since early April with the advent of summer, which is expected to grow further with the rise of mercury.

Bangladesh bought four spot LNG cargoes for the deliveries in the past two months – March and April.

The bid winners will deliver the LNG cargoes at Moheshkhali Island in the Bay of Bengal, with options to discharge the cargo at either of the country’s two floating storage regasification units (FSRUs) located on Moheshkhali Island.

The RPGCL, a wholly owned subsidiary of state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas, and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla, looks into LNG trades in Bangladesh.

The volume of each of the spot LNG cargoes will also be around 3.36 million British thermal units (MMBtu).

Bangladesh previously awarded its latest spot LNG cargo to Gunvor Singapore Pte Ltd. for the May 25-26 delivery window at $11.83 per MMBtu.

Bangladesh currently imports LNG from Qatar Energy and OQ Trading International under long-term deals and purchases LNG also from the spot market to re-gasify LNG in its two operational FSRUs, having a total capacity of 1.10 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd).

The country has been reeling from an acute energy crisis as its natural gas output is depleting.

Bangladesh has been rationing gas supply to industries, power plants and other gas-guzzling industries to cope with the mounting demand.​