[🇧🇩] Energy Security of Bangladesh

[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...

www.newagebd.net

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.

www.thedailystar.net

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.​

 

[Saif]

Weak-kneed power deal

It could be learnt from the media that the Adani Power Limited (APL), an Indian private power company, with which the ousted previous government of Sheikh Hasina signed a 25-year deal in November 2017 to purchase power on behalf of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) from the company's Gadda

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Weak-kneed power deal
SYED FATTAHUL ALIM
Published :
Feb 16, 2025 22:52
Updated :
Feb 16, 2025 22:52

It could be learnt from the media that the Adani Power Limited (APL), an Indian private power company, with which the ousted previous government of Sheikh Hasina signed a 25-year deal in November 2017 to purchase power on behalf of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) from the company's Gadda power plant situated in that country's Jharkhand state, has agreed to resume full supply of 1,600 MW electricity within a short time. Notably, APL unilaterally cut supply of power by half by shutting down one of the two units of the Gadda power plants from October 31 last year on the pretext of Bangladesh's delay in repaying its dues. It may be recalled that at that time the interim government was in office for only about 11 weeks since assuming power on August 8 of last year following ouster of the former regime and was yet to settle down. The arrear of power bills in question did not evidently build up during the time the interim government had been in office.

Clearly, it was an unfriendly move when the country was facing acute shortage of foreign currency, a legacy of the past authoritarian regime. Still, APL took undue advantage of the sticky situation the interim government was in. Meanwhile, as the winter set in, the BPDB requested Adani power to continue with the ongoing truncated power supply from one unit of the Gadda power plants citing the reduced demand for power in Bangladesh during the winter season. Now, with the advent of summer, after three months of the curtailed supply, reports say, APL, upon request from BPDB, has agreed to restore full supply of electricity. But under what conditions has APL agreed to resume power supply to Bangladesh? As reported, though APL has agreed to resume power supply, it rejected all other requests of BPDB including power price discounts, tax benefits, etc.

In this connection, the BPDB is reported to have informed that though Bangladesh side wanted to settle contentious issues regarding the power deal, the other side, APL, was only sticking to the original conditions of the power purchase agreement. Adani power's strong stance was not surprising, if only because Bangladesh side proved to be too docile before the party supplying power. It is worthwhile to note that from the very beginning the power deal was controversial and unequal on various grounds. For example, the APL is charging Bangladesh for power at a rate that is 55 per cent higher than the current rate of power tariff in India. Also, for the coal that fires the Gadda power plants, APL is charging higher than its existing price in Bangladesh. Due to Bangladesh side's failure to realise the concessions it asked from APL, the loss the BPDB is going to incur will amount to millions of US dollars.

Even so, going by the BPDB chairman's assurance, it appears, everything is hunky dory with the APL. He assures, there is a committee on either side to resolve any issues that might arise between them. All this only reminds one of the policy of capitulation that former regime pursued regarding any agreement with India and the power purchase contract with Adani is one such deal of acquiescence. Ironically, the Adani side was not ready to spare even US$1.0 million against the asked for discounts, sources in the power body admitted to the media. Despite all these, those in charge of the said government agency for power development in Bangladesh want to increase the monthly repayment of dues to APL. It is worth mentioning that at the moment Bangladesh is paying APL at the rate of US$85 million per month. Last December, an APL spokesperson reportedly told BPDB that the latter owed it (APL) to the tune of US$900 million. On the contrary, the BPD said the amount (in dues) was US$650 million. In that case, one wonders why earlier the head of BPDB did tell a foreign news agency that there were no issues remaining with APL.

It is incomprehensible that the Bangladesh side is kowtowing to APL, when the latter's parent company, Adani Group, is facing charges of bribery and fraudulence in the USA. Kenya's president in November last year scrapped the US$736 million 30-year energy deal with Adani Group. Adani Green Energy is learnt to have withdrawn from the proposed US$4442 million green power projects on the issue of the new Sri Lanka government's decision to renegotiate tariff.

When all other countries have put their foot down regarding their power deals with Adani group, Bangladesh, to all intents and purposes, has chosen to bow down before the Indian power company no matter how insensitive that company is to Bangladesh's genuine demands. It is exactly against this backdrop that the adviser to the Ministry of power, energy and mineral resources, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan of the interim government reportedly visited Delhi to attend the 'India Energy Week-2025', a global energy platform. No wonder the nation will be waiting anxiously to know what was the energy adviser's achievement from his India tour, the first of such visit by any member of the incumbent interim government since it came to power last year. That too when there is still no credible sign of any breakthrough in thawing of relations between the two next-door neighbours following the ouster of the erstwhile regime of Bangladesh. But if it was purely a foreign tour to attend an international conference, then the question of its usefulness vis-à-vis addressing the acute power crisis the country at the moment is going through would naturally arise.

As could be gathered, there was no prospect of any renegotiation with APL during this tour by the energy adviser. The interim government cannot simply afford to be weak-kneed in dealing with any entity, local or foreign, when it comes to a subject as sensitive as power. Compromising national interest on such issues is the last thing the government can allow.​

 

[Saif]

Quality gas and electricity supply for industries

The Financial Express reports (February 11, 2025) that the 'final economic growth for the last fiscal year was lowered by 1.60 percentage points to only 4.22 per cent as the real export earnings were much lower than the projected statistics of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data showed. The

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Quality gas and electricity supply for industries
Mushfiqur Rahman
Published :
Feb 16, 2025 21:57
Updated :
Feb 16, 2025 21:57

The Financial Express reports (February 11, 2025) that the 'final economic growth for the last fiscal year was lowered by 1.60 percentage points to only 4.22 per cent as the real export earnings were much lower than the projected statistics of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data showed. The BBS preliminary estimation put the FY 24 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 5.82 per cent'

BBS data further confirm that the fall of industrial production and exports are the key reasons for the downward GDP growth rate. Published data indicate that the industrial sector growth of the country was reduced to 3.51 per cent in the final GDP data (estimates published a few months ago was 6.66 per cent) in the preliminary report). Different research groups and experts have attributed the poor industrial growth to political turmoil in 2024, lack of investors' confidence and absence of congenial business climate.

The readymade garments (RMG) manufacturing industries have been securing the country's major share of export earnings. With the growth of the RMG sector, textile (spinning and weaving) segments have flourished as a backward linkage of the garments sector in the country. The garments industry leaders have been raising concerns that the backward linkage industries have been losing competitiveness due to primary energy (natural gas) supply shortages and its higher cost. As a result, the RMG sector operators now prefer imported raw materials from India and China for their productions.

Various published reports based on studies by business chambers and trade bodies claim that industrial productions in Bangladesh suffer about 30-40 per cent losses due to gas and electricity supply shortages. Cost of industrial productions have increased due to high cost of energy. Poor quality supply of gas and electricity has been systematically harming the equipment and machinery, adding increased repairing and maintenance costs for industries. As the costs for energy has been increasing steadily, unreliable supply of gas and electricity put the industries in a disadvantaged situation. As the RMG sector is increasingly relying on imported raw materials, value addition is declining in the sector.

Business leader and President of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury in a recent interview with Energy & Power Magazine stated that 'the spinning and weaving industries had lost competitiveness despite increased productivity and enhanced fuel efficiency'. He further informed that the gas price had been increasing systematically for last couple of years and the industry owners had agreed to pay Taka 30 per MSCF on condition of quality gas supply. The gas price has been increased but the supply quality did not improve. The governmnet claims that the import LNG and its processing cost for gas supply involve more than double the price of gas the industry owners pay for per unit of supplied gas. Petrobangla sources inform that its losses reached approximately Taka 16,000 crores in the current fiscal and the dependence of Petrobangla has increased on the government subsidies. Generally, Petrobangla losses are linked with low sales prices (subsidised prices) of natural gas to different sectors of consumers. On the contrary, Energy Adviser of the present interim government Dr. Muhammad Fauzul Kabir Khan informed the media that the government spends Taka 72 per unit for importing gas and supply at Taka 30 per unit.

Reports on daily gas & condensate production and distribution of Petrobangla suggest that the total gas production in the country including imported LNG was 2,689.8 mmcfd. Imported LNG had only 781.6 mmcfd share. The share of LNG in the supplied gas is less than 30 per cent. Therefore, the import and processing costs for re-gasified LNG should not be fully transferred to industrial consumers.

Domestic gas productions from the existing 29 gas fields in Bangladesh have been steadily declining (approximately at a rate of 200 mmcfd per annum) since 2018 and reliance on imported LNG has been increasing. At the same time Petrobangla can not speed up LNG import as the existing LNG storage and processing facilities have maximum installed capacity of 1,000 mmcf per day. The proven gas reserve of the country has been declining fast (it is estimated that the country has 7.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas reserve). The annual consumption if restricted within 1 Tcf gas from the domestic reserve sources, the domestic reserve may last maximum 7-8 years (if no more major viable gas reserve will be added). Thus the consumers have to increasingly rely on imported LNG (subject to availability and expansion of LNG storage and processing facilities).

Necessary initiatives are needed to accelerate the government organisations to explore all possible commercially viable energy resources in the country. Considering the limitations of rapid increment of quality gas supply for industries, businesses demand urgent initiatives for improvements in national electricity grid infrastructure and distribution systems for securing quality power supply for industries.

Mushfiqur Rahman is a mining engineer. He writes on energy and environment issues.​

 

[Saif]

Power cuts for long hours feared in summer

Bangladesh braces for a difficult summer, feared to be hotter than ever before, faced with the prospect of long hours of power cuts due to outstanding energy bills.

www.newagebd.net

Power cuts for long hours feared in summer
Emran Hossain 17 February, 2025, 23:39

File photo

Unpaid bills exceed Tk 38,373cr in 6 months

Bangladesh braces for a difficult summer, feared to be hotter than ever before, faced with the prospect of long hours of power cuts due to outstanding energy bills.

The overall outstanding bill to 121 power plants stood at Tk 38,373 crore until January 7, 2025 with almost half of the ongoing fiscal remaining ahead, mostly lurking with humid summer days.

At the end of the last fiscal, barely a month before a student-led uprising that toppled the Sheikh Hasina regime, the outstanding bill had totaled at Tk 44,338 crore.

‘Massive dues to power producers against the likelihood of electricity demand rising by at least 5 per cent present frightening scenario,’ said Shafiqul Alam, lead energy analyst, Bangladesh, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

‘Even a meticulous plan may not save the day,’ he said

The day temperature reached 32.4 degrees Celsius on February 16, almost two weeks before winter is supposed to be officially over. Load shedding occurred almost every hour on Monday despite the power demand hovering between 10,000MW and 11,000MW. Bangladesh’s overall installed power generation capacity is over 27,884MW.

In less than a month, the power demand is forecasted to surge by 6,000MW to 7,000MW, potentially catching the Muslim-majority nation in a serious predicament in the month of Ramadan.

An estimated 5,000MW is considered summer cooling demand. Irrigation during summer also requires a supply of about 2,000MW.

Power, energy and mineral resources adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Monday urged all not to lower AC temperature below 25C during summer in a bid to save up to 3,000MW to minimise the gap between demand and supply.

He said that power cuts would be equally distributed in villages and cities.

Frequent power cuts can bear serious food security consequences as the cultivation of Boro, the country’s main rice crop, overwhelmingly depends on lifting groundwater for irrigation.

Inability to release enough dollars rendered the 1,320MW coal-based Rampal power plant to shut down on February 14 while getting full supply from the 1,347MW Adani power plant remained uncertain due to non-payment of bills.

Bangladesh Power Development Board’s account of power plant-wise outstanding bills revealed that over 61 per cent of the outstanding bill or Tk 23,613 crore was owed as unpaid fuel bills.

Power purchase agreements require the BPDB, the sole buyer of all electricity generated, to supply energy, after entitling almost all power plants to capacity charge.

Coal-based power plants, however, import their fuel mostly on own arrangement and get paid by the BPDB.

In fuel bills, the BPDB owes more than TK 5,235 crore to coal-fired power plants, over Tk 5,942.86 crore to furnace oil-based power plants and Tk 12,023 crore to gas-based power plants.

Of the fuel bill dues to coal power plants, Tk 2,825 crore is owed to Adani Power, representing the highest amount of outstanding payment.

Adani halved its power generation in November last year citing non-payment of bills, months after it changed the law to exclusively supply power to Bangladesh after

Hasina had fled to India on August 5. Adani can now sell power in India. It reported machine problem after Bangladesh’s request to resume full power supply.

Gas, on the other hand, is entirely supplied under the government arrangement – 75 per cent from local gas fields and the rest imported as liquefied natural gas.

About 40 per cent of the import capacity remained unused ever since LNG was introduced in mid-2018 mainly because of its high expenses. The AL regime frequently hiked retail gas prices but did not help much amid a rapid depletion in the foreign currency reserve because of the import.

Bangladesh can supply close to 3,000MMCFD of gas in the best case scenario against the demand of 4,000MMCFD, facing the tough task of who to get the supply – power generation or industries.

Energy experts said that Bangladesh was in no position to increase its fuel supply to gas-based power plants, about half of which remain idle.

Furnace oil is imported by both the government and private power plants.

Of the overall power sector dues of nearly Tk 38,500 crore, Tk 23,283 crore was owed to privately owned power plants.

‘Our energy future could not be gloomier,’ Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development member secretary Hasan Mehedi said.

Bangladesh loaned $2.1 billion from Jeddah-based International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to meet its energy import needs in the current fiscal year.

In the previous fiscal year, Bangladesh took $1.4 billion from the same lender. The money was spent for oil imports.

Bangladesh also released bond worth Tk 12,000 crore to minimize its power sector debt.

The combined outstanding payment to Indian companies stood at Tk 6,823 crore.

Of the local power producers, Tk 3,120 crore was owed to the Summit Group, about TK 1,000 crore each to the United Group and the Orion Group, and Tk 841 crore to the Confidence Group.

Of the major base-load power plants, Tk 1,353 crore was owed to Payra power plant, Tk 576 crore to Rampal power

plant, Tk 160 crore to SS Power, Tk 216 crore to Matarbari power plant, Tk 477crore to Unique Meghnaghat Power and Tk 790 crore to Bhola power plant.

The overall outstanding bill also included Tk 545 crore owed to transmission authorities in Bangladesh and India.

At the end of last fiscal year, the BPDB could pay half of its dues with 78 per cent of the payment ending up in the pockets of 24 companies – all AL favorites.

During the Awami League regime for over 15 years, Bangladesh was steered on the path of aggressive expansion of fossil fuels, leading to the building of around 100 power plants, almost all of which were built without competitive bidding.

Frequent energy price hikes over the AL regime triggered the worst inflation in decades, turning Bangladesh to the International Monetary Fund for a $4.97 billion loan.​

 

[Saif]

Power to be disconnected if AC runs below 25C: adviser

Power, energy and mineral resources adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Monday urged the country’s people to run their air conditioners at 25 degrees Celsius or above during the upcoming month of Ramadan and summer season.

www.newagebd.net

Power to be disconnected if AC runs below 25C: adviser
Staff Correspondent 18 February, 2025, 00:13

Power, energy and mineral resources adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Monday urged the country’s people to run their air conditioners at 25 degrees Celsius or above during the upcoming month of Ramadan and summer season.

If otherwise, the government will take legal action or disconnect the electricity connection, he warned at a press briefing on the second day of the three-day annual conference of the deputy commissioners at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.

The adviser’s warning came Bangladesh braces for a difficult summer, feared to be hotter than ever before, faced with the prospect of long hours of power cuts.

The adviser said that they had started to send letters to the members of the advisory council and already sent a letter to the adviser to the religious affairs ministry to inform the imams to follow the direction during the tarabi namaz during the month of Ramadan.

‘I will request the business organisations through the commerce adviser and all banks through the Bangladesh Bank to keep the AC’s temperature at 25 degrees Celsius or above,’ he said, adding, ‘I will send a letter to the cabinet secretary.’

Fouzul Kabir mentioned that the power demand in winter was 9,000 megawatts and the demand would increase to 17,000MW to 18,000MW in summer.

This gap of 8,000MW to 9,000MW is caused mainly for two major reasons, one of which is irrigation that required 2,000MW, he said.

‘Irrigation is mandatory for food production so this is our highest priority,’ he said.

‘Another reason for increased power demand is cooling loads by the ACs which requires 5,000MW to 6,000MW,’ he said.

‘If we run the ACs at 25 degrees Celsius or above, we can save 2,000MW to 3,000MW,’ the adviser said.

He said that special teams of the Power Division would work to monitor the situation.

‘I hope that power cuts will not take place. But, if it happens, it will be equally distributed in rural and urban areas, except the key point installations and hospitals,’ he said.

Fouzul, also the adviser to the ministries of road transports and bridges and railways, said that they also discussed the issue of reducing the number of road crashes and marked it as the highest priority issue.

He also said that the DCs discussed the issue of the construction of different roads and rail tracks and the repair of different roads.

‘I told the DCs about the limitations of our resources,’ he said and added that the government was facing difficulties in paying prices for fuels and electricity for this reason.​

 

[Saif]

Funding shortfall threatens renewable energy goals

Despite Bangladesh’s lofty aim of generating 40 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2040, the country faces a significant funding gap, as only 3.6 percent of the required funds were allocated to the sector in 2023, according to a study.

www.thedailystar.net

Funding shortfall threatens renewable energy goals
Banks, NBFIs provided only 3.6% of required funds in 2023

Despite Bangladesh's lofty aim of generating 40 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2040, the country faces a significant funding gap, as only 3.6 percent of the required funds were allocated to the sector in 2023, according to a study.

Despite the growing need for sustainable energy solutions, banks and financial institutions are providing minimal financing to this sector, said Khondkar Morshed Millat, a faculty member of the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management.

In 2023, banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) financed Tk 742 crore for renewable energy projects, up by 62 percent from 2021, the study said.

However, quoting the BIBM's research, Millat said Bangladesh required funding of around Tk 20,500 crore in 2023 to stay on course to provide 40 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2040.

He added that the annual requirement was likely to increase to Tk 49,400 crore in 2041.

"If this trend continues, domestic banks and financial institutions will contribute only 4 to 9 percent of the required annual funding by 2041, jeopardising the country's renewable energy goals," he added.

He raised these concerns while presenting a study titled "Renewable Energy Financing Trends in Bangladesh" during an event organised by Unnayan Shamannay, a think tank, at the Bishwo Shahitto Kendro in the capital's Banglamotor.

Currently, less than 1 percent of term loans from the banking sector go to renewable energy, he added.

The study further mentioned that, as per the central bank's annual report for FY23, total renewable finance by banks and NBFIs accounted for only 0.3 percent of total disbursed term loans.

Millat, also a former director of the Bangladesh Bank's Sustainable Finance Department, added that some policy challenges, including high import duties imposed on inputs and a lack of tax incentives for entrepreneurs, were major barriers to this sector.

He highlighted central bank initiatives, including policies on sustainable finance and refinancing schemes, but emphasised the need for further fiscal, budgetary, and monetary reforms to expand renewable energy financing.

Tashmeem Muntazir Chowdhury, head of sustainable finance at BRAC Bank, pointed out that domestic banks struggle to fund large-scale renewable projects, urging greater involvement from international development partners.

Mostafa Al Mahmud, president of the Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association, stressed Bangladesh's vast potential for small-scale renewable initiatives like rooftop solar set-ups.

However, he lamented the financial constraints that pose a major hurdle to progress. "In some cases, we have to pay 72 percent tax on imported items, which is a major barrier for the renewable energy sector," said Mahmud.

Ragib Ibnul Asif, deputy director of the central bank's Sustainable Finance Department, underscored the importance of raising awareness among bank officials about the benefits of renewable energy to encourage increased funding.

He also highlighted the need to find other financial sources, such as the bond market.

The seminar was moderated by Zahid Rahman, senior project coordinator of Unnayan Shamannay, and featured open discussions with representatives of banks and NBFIs, renewable energy entrepreneurs, researchers, and university students.​

 

[Saif]

BARAPUKURIA: Coal stacks smoulder as power plant shuts down

Coal stacks three times the usual height, rising up to 15 meters, smouldered at the Barapukuria coal mine as the 525MW coal-fired Barapukuria power plant shut down its last two units since February 15 due to technical glitches triggered by years of lack of maintenance...

www.newagebd.net

BARAPUKURIA: Coal stacks smoulder as power plant shuts down
Emran Hossain 19 February, 2025, 23:51

Coal stacks three times the usual height, rising up to 15 meters, smouldered at the Barapukuria coal mine as the 525MW coal-fired Barapukuria power plant shut down its last two units since February 15 due to technical glitches triggered by years of lack of maintenance.

On Wednesday, power generation from the lone local coal-fired power plant plummeted to zero with chances of not resuming operation in at least two weeks.

The power plant is supposed to consume the mine’s production entirely.

A total of 2.80 lakh tonnes of coal was sitting in the coal stacks with its size growing by around 4,000 tonnes every day, barely leaving any room in the designated coal yards of the mine and the power plant authorities.

‘The standard practice is to keep coal stack height at maximum 6 meters,’ said Shaiful Islam Sarkar, managing director, Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited.

Coal stacks are susceptible to self-combustion the chances of which occurring grow with the growth in the height of the stack, he explained.

‘We already spotted smokes on several occasions at the stacks while a flame was also seen once,’ said Shaiful.

Disrupted production at the coal-fired power plant led to the massive stacks over the last month, he said, adding that lately the power plant had been using on average 2,000 tonnes of coal daily because of its reduced generation capacity.

Both the BCPCL and the Bangladesh Power Development Board, the owner of the coal plant, were busy spraying water on their coal stacks continuously as the dry season of winter presumably facilitated self-combustion.

The coal mine has been exclusively supplying fuel to the power plant, the main source of electricity for many areas in the northern region.

‘The power plant has been a patchwork for a while now since there has been no maintenance after it started operating in 2018,’ said Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique, the chief engineer of the plant.

The plant’s first unit, which originally had the capacity to generate 125MW but could now produce about 75MW due to lack of maintenance, was the last to close down at 2:43pm on Tuesday.

Leak in the boiler’s super heater tube led to the closure, Abu Bakar said.

Repairs of the first unit have to wait for two weeks because of the closure, leaving the plant extremely heated at around 1,000C.

Leaks were also behind the closure of the third and the biggest unit of the plant worth 275MW on February 15. Pipe connecting the boiler with the turbine developed the leaks.

‘The pipe has been leaking slightly for a long time. It suddenly just went out of control,’ said Abu Bakar.

Heater for heating up air also malfunctioned besides a bearing that broke down while four out of the five coal mills at the 3rd unit were barely operational.

A two-week deadline has been fixed to repair the 3rd unit.

The second unit of the plant with 125MW capacity, which has been out of operation since 2020, badly needed an overhauling.

The company responsible for the plant’s maintenance never performed its duty during the past Awami League regime, overthrown by a student-led uprising in July-August last year.

‘Sudden closure will keep haunting the power plant even if it returns to operation for the time being,’ said Abu Bakar.

He said that the BPDB asked the BCPCL to sell its coal outside after keeping a certain stock.

With the crisis at Barapukuria, the power sector witnessed yet another grim development, barely days after the 1,320MW imported coal-based Rampal power plant shut down due to fuel shortage triggered by the dollar crisis.

Bangladesh has also not seen any progress regarding its request to the 1,347.54MW Adani power plant to run at its full capacity. The power plant has been running at its half capacity since November last year due to outstanding bills.

After the request, the Adani power said that it could not start full operation due to a technical glitch.

The BCPCL authorities warned that they would not be able to suspend coal mining as the move would have serious consequences.

Suspending operations at the coal mine mean paying demurrage to the Chinese company running the mine with 1,100 local and 250 Chinese staff.

After a phase of mining begins, its abandonment halfway through means leaving the coal exposed to self-combustion, the plant authorities said.

‘The entire phase has to be sealed off,’ said Shaiful Islam.

The current phase under mining at the Barapukuria contains nearly 5 lakh tonnes.

Time is running out fast for Bangladesh to ensure measures to take its current production of 11,000–18,000MW by the time the coming summer peaks in. Bangladesh’s current installed power generation capacity is 27,884.7MW. But load shedding persisted even during winter, when the electricity demand remained around 10,000MW.

The temperature already started rising. In 200km of Barapukuria in Dinajpur, the day temperature reached 32C on Wednesday, placing the area as the hottest place in the country on the day.

At 6:00pm on Wednesday, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that the Dhaka air contained 49 per cent humidity.​