Bangabandhu’s policy was to ensure hassle-free power supply at affordable pricefor achieving economic development of the country. His strategy was to utilizeown resources instead of dependence on imported fuel. Bangladesh in its longjourney of about 50 years since independence made significant progress — be it interms of the economy or other areas. The energy sector is not also lagging behind.The power subsector has made remarkable progress particularly in generationthanks to tremendous efforts especially over the last 11 years. The overcapacity oflate drew some criticisms though. However, one of the major issues of concern isthat the country is gradually getting dependent on imported fuel, putting pricepressure on the consumers. There is a projection that the country is approachingtowards 90 percent dependence on the imported fuel. Ultimately, the consumerswill have to bear the brunt.

The main challenge is to increase the contribution of own fuel to the fuel mix tolimit the power generation cost. It is not an easy task, however. But, hectic effortsshould be there for exploring own primary fuel alongside taking a realistic plan tolimit the use of imported fuel to its lowest possible level.

Fortnightly Magazine, Vol 17, Issue 14, January 1-15

A proper mix of own and im-ported primary fuel needs to beensured for Bangladesh toachieve affordable power sup-ply. But the country is not pur-suing that path. The trend overthe past twelve years is drivingBangladesh increasingly to-wards imported fuel depend-ency. This will put new stresson the economy and affect theenvisioned high growth rate.Policy towards increasing...

The power and energy ministryhas doubled the capacity of LNGimport terminal and re-gasifica-tion while adding 2,153 megawatt(MW) of electricity, making thecountry’s overall installed capac-ity to 19,467 MW in 2019.

A new LNG import terminal witha re-gasification capacity of 500million cubic feet per day(mmcfd) was added in the justconcluded year, totaling the coun-try’s LNG import terminals to ...

The year 2020 is going to be a very impor-tant year for Bangladesh in many consider-ations. The countdown for ‘Mujib Barsho’on the occasion of birth centenary of thefather of the nation Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman will be launched on Janu-ary 10, marking his homecoming day. Theforward march to achieve economic devel-opment of the war-ravaged countrythrough ensuring effective and economicuse of fuel that was started by his historicinitiatives. Not only the anti-liberation syn-dicate energized through the midnight ...

45 25 9

EditorMollah M Amzad Hossain

Advisory EditorAnwarul Islam TarekMortuza Ahmad FaruqueSaiful Amin

International EditorDr. Nafis Ahmed

Contributing EditorsSaleque Sufi

Online EditorGSM Shamsuzzoha (Nasim)

Managing EditorAfroza HossainMagazine AdministratorAKM Shamsul Hoque

ReportersArunima HossainMohiuddin MiahAssistant Online EditorAditya HossainDesign & GraphicsMd. Monirul Islam PhotographyBulbul Ahmed

ProductionMufazzal Hossain Joy

Computer GraphicsMd. Uzzal Hossain

Circulation AssistantKhokan Chandra Das

Editorial, News & CommercialRoom 509, Eastern Trade Center56 Inner Circular Road (VIP Road)Naya Paltan. GPO Box : 677Dhaka-1000, BangladeshTel & Fax : 88-02-58314532Email: ep@dhaka.netenergypower@gmail.comWebsite: www.ep-bd.com

PriceBangladesh: Tk 50, SAARC: US$ 6,Asia: US$ 8, Europe: US$ 10, NorthAmerica, Africa & Australia: US$ 14

Encouraged by the readers and patrons, the EP would continue bringingout Green Pages to contribute to the country’s efforts in its journeytowards environment-friendly energy.

5 WORLD WATCH

Latest Development in

World

6,8 SNAPSHOT

Latest Development

9 COVER

2020: Year of Taking

Pragmatic Approach

COVER ARTICLE

21 Don’t Lose Sight of Energy

Sector in 2020

SPECIAL REPORT

25 Energy Sector Witnesses

‘Unplanned’ Growth

REPORT

27 Nasrul Slams Petrobangla,

Bapex Officials for Poor

Performance

27 More Japanese Mega

Projects Possible: Envoy

29 Turkey Keen to Invest in BD's

Energy Sector

29 ADB to Provide $333m for

Power, Transportation

Sectors

30 KPCL to Acquire 35pc Stake

in United Payra Power Plant

30 Govt Relaxes Rules for

Captive Power Plants

31 Power Tariff Hike from Jan 1

Not Lawful: CAB

31 Govt Seeks JICA Fund for

Building Two Matarbari Power

Plant Units

32 World’s First Floating

Nuclear Power Unit Supplies

Electricity to Russian Grid

32 Electricity Import from Indian

Firm’s Plant in Nepal Okayed

CLIMATE

41 Key Trends Impacting Power

Industry in 2020, Says

GlobalData

42 Dhaka Ranks 7th Worst in Air

Quality Index

43 Climate Change, Sea­Level

Rise Serious Threat to Agri

Growth

44 73 Countries Commit to Net

Zero CO2 Emissions by 2050

INTERVIEW

45 Prof Dr. M Tamim,

Pro­Vice Chancellor of

BRAC University

35 Sungrow Secures Contract

for 35 MW Plant

37 First Nationwide Network of

Bio­CNG Projects Under

Development in US

37 Can Algae­Based Biofuels

Ever Be Cost Effective?

38 Potential of Renewables for

Refugee Settlements

38 COP25 Sees Launch of

New €18m Hydropower

Initiative

5

Worldwatch

January 1, 2020

B r a z i l 'sstate-con-trolled oilcompany

Petrobras SA is mulling construction of a new lubricant plantthat could quadruple its production capacity by 2022, thecompany's refining chief said recently.

Anelise Lara, Petrobras' refining and natural gas chief, toldReuters the company will invest about $400 million to buildthe new plant in the Comperj refinery, raising its lubricant pro-duction capacity to 225,00 cubic meters.

The new Comperj plant will use raw materials from anotherrefinery, Reduc, she added. Both refineries, located in the stateof Rio de Janeiro, will be linked by a pipeline.

When the Comperj plant is concluded, Petrobras plans to shutdown its lubricant production unit at Reduc.

Brazil’s Petrobras Mulls New$400m Lubricant Plant

Under-fire AustralianPrime Minister ScottMorrison recently re-jected calls for “reck-

less” and “job-destroying” cuts to the country’s vast coalindustry in the face of a deadly climate-fuelled bushfire crisis.

Morrison’s conservative government has fiercely defended thelucrative coal industry in Australia, which produces a third ofglobal coal exports and provides work in key swing electoraldistricts.

“I am not going to write off the jobs of thousands of Aus-tralians by walking away from traditional industries,” Morrison

told theSeven Net-work, in oneof severalmorning in-terviews re-jecting callsfor furtheraction.

Aussie PM Defies CoalCritics as Fires Rage

Qata r ’ ss o v e r -e i g nw e a l t h

fund will invest $450 million in a unit of Indian power companyAdani Transmission Ltd for a 25.1 percent stake, the two entitiessaid recently.

Qatar Investment Authority will buy the stake in Adani Electric-ity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) in a deal that will also include subordi-nated loans.

AEML is an integrated power distribution, transmission and gen-eration business that serves more than 3 million consumers inMumbai, India’s financial capital.

Qatari Fund to Invest $450min India’s Adani Transmission

S a u d iAramco'ss h a r e ss o a r e d

on their debut on the domestic stock exchange recently, be-coming the world's biggest listed company worth $1.88 tril-lion after a record-breaking IPO.

Aramco had priced the initial public offering at 32 riyals($8.53) per share, raising $25.6 billion and eclipsing Alibaba's$25 billion IPO of 2014 to become the world's largest.

Aramco shares rose 10 per cent to 35.2 riyals just secondsafter trading began on Riyadh's Tadawul exchange, the max-imum allowed on any trading day, further boosting the energygiant's valuation.

"Today is a day of immense pride for Aramco," company chiefexecutive Amin Nasser said at a glitzy launch ceremony.

"Today we make history as Saudi Aramco marks the beginningof an important new chapter in our company's journey ofprosperity," he added.

Saudi Aramco Shares Rocketon Debut After Record IPO

Anelise Lara

Chevron Cor-poration saidrecently it willbook a charge

of at least $10 billion because lowerlong-term prices for oil and natural gaswill reduce the value of its assets.

More than half the write-down is relatedto gas drilling operations in Appalachia.

The huge fourth-quarter write-down –between $10 billion and $11 billion –underscores the challenge posed by ris-

ing production that has prevented energy prices from increas-ing sharply during a time of increasing global demand.

Chevron said it will reduce spending on some investments in-cluding Appalachian shale, a liquefied gas terminal in BritishColumbia, and other international projects. The company saidit is evaluating options including selling those assets.

The San Ramon, California-based company disclosed the es-timated charge as it announced that capital and explorationspending next year will be held flat at $20 billion. Chevronwill focus on operations in the Permian Basin of west Texasand New Mexico, a big project in Kazakhstan, and deepwaterdrilling opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron Will Write DownAssets by at Least $10bn

6

Snapshot

January 1, 2020

Azam JC h o w d -h u r y ,managing

director of MJL Bangladesh,has recently been re-electedpresident of the BangladeshAssociation of Publicly ListedCompanies (BAPLC) for 2020and 2021.

The association also electedRiad Mahmud, managing di-rector of National Polymer In-dustries, as vice president,according to a statement. TheBAPLC represents companieslisted with Bangladesh’s stockexchanges.

Other executive committee members are M Anis Ud Dowla,Syed M Altaf Hussain, Manzurul Islam, Ruhul Amin, Mo-hammed Younus, Matiur Rahman, Rokeya Quader, FarzanahChowdhury, Syed Farhad Ahmed, Shahriar Ahmed, MominulIslam, Md Abu Noman Howlader, ATM Mahbubul Alam, MdNazrul Islam, Hasan Morshed Chowdhury, Imam Shaheen,Md Faisal Karim Khan, Iftekhar Uddin and Oli Kamal.

Azam Chowdhury ReelectedPresident of BAPLC

Religious Affairs Secre-tary Md. Anisur Rahmanhas been transferred tothe Energy and Mineral

Resources Division recently.

Md. Anisur Rahman was bornon December 31, 1962 inShariatpur district. He hadcompleted his SecondarySchool Certificate and HigherSecondary Certificate examina-tion from Chandpur Hasan AliGovernment High School andChandpur College respectively.He has obtained Honors andMasters Degree from the De-partment of Geography, Uni-versity of Dhaka.

He is also a member of BCS (Administration) cadre belongingin 1985 batch and joined on 15th February 1988. He served invarious capacities in the field service as Assistant Commissioner,Upazila Magistrate, Upazila Nirbahi Officer.

Energy Division GetsNew Secretary

The government has ap-pointed new secretary tothe Power Division, saidgazette notifications ofthe public administration

ministry recently.

Chairman of Rajdhani Un-nayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK)Dr. Sultan Ahmed has beenappointed secretary to thepower division of power, en-ergy and mineral resourcesministry. Besides, he has beenpromoted from additional sec-retary.

Earlier on Sunday, power divi-sion sr. secretary Dr AhmadKaikaus was appointed as the

principal secretary to the prime minister.

Dr Sultan is a member of Bangladesh Administrative Servicesof the 8th batch.

Sultan Ahmed has been having an excellent academic feat inscience, engineering and technology, and an outstanding ex-perience of solid works in development administration.

This has made him an expert official with a unique blend ofgeneral and technical abilities. Mr Sultan studied civil engi-neering and transportation engineering at Bangladesh Univer-sity of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

Power Division GetsNew Secretary

Dr. Sultan Ahmed

F r o mn o w ,besidesP a l l i

Bidyut postpaid bills, customers can recharge their prepaidmeter through bKash as well. Customers of Bangladesh RuralElectrification Board (BREB), popularly known as Palli Bidyut,will be able to recharge meter 24/7 from anywhere of the coun-try, said a statement.

With this initiative, more than 27 million both postpaid and pre-paid Palli Bidyut subscribers across the country can now paytheir electricity bills with great convenience.

Palli Bidyut Prepaid Meter BillCan Be Paid Through Bkash

Md. Anisur Rahman

Engineer SayeedAhmed joined asthe new Chair-man of

Bangladesh Power Develop-ment Board (BPDB) recently.

Engineer Sayeed, who re-placed former BPDB ChairmanEngineer Khaled Mahmud,joined as its 35th chairman, ac-cording to a BPDB release. Be-fore joining to the post, he wasa member of the PDB.

Sayeed Ahmed was born inRangpur district on February 1in 1961.

After obtaining BSC engineer-ing degree from the

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)in 1982, he joined in PDB as Assistant Engineer on January 10in 1984.

Engineer Sayeed AhmedJoins BPDB as Chairman

Engineer Sayeed Ahmed

Azam J Chowdhury

8

Snapshot

January 1, 2020

State Min-ister forPower, En-ergy and

Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said the government isworking to modernization and automation of the gas sectoraiming to prevent misuse of the national resource.

The state minister said this as the chief guest while addressinga seminar on “Pre-paid or smart gas meter purchase and in-stallation policy-2019” at Petrobangla office recently.

Terming the Pre-paid meter is cost-effective and safe, Hamidsaid, “If there is any leakage in the gaspipe lines, gas supplywill be suspended automatically due to use of the prepaid gasmeter, which also prevents accident.”

Joint secretary of Mineral Resource Division Dr Shah MdSanaullah Haq read out a keynote paper at the seminar.

Chaired by Petro Bangla Chairman Md Ruhul Amin, the sem-inar was addressed, among others, by Energy and Mineral Re-sources Division Senior Secretary Abu Hena Md RahmatulMunim.

Govt Working on Gas SectorAutomation: Nasrul

Titas Gas Transmission &Distribution CompanyLimited has approved26 per cent cash divi-

dend earlier recommended for the year ended on June 30,2019. The approval came at the company's 38th annual gen-eral meeting (AGM) in the capital recently, said a statement.

The company said its income from gas sales declined 0.25 percent to Tk 14.15 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 whenit sold more than 16.56 billion cubic meter of gas.

The company's net profit after tax stood at above Tk 4.64 bil-lion for the FY 2018-19. "The company deposited above Tk5.92 billion to the government exchequer in the FY 2018-19,"said the release.

Titas Gas, presently an 'A' category company, was listed withthe stock exchanges in 2008. The company's share priceclosed at Tk 31.10 each on Monday with a marginal loss of

0.64 percent orTk 0.2on theD h a k aStock Ex-c h a n g e(DSE).

Titas Gas Approves26pc Cash Dividend

Summit Power Lim-ited has secured thefirst position at theICMAB Best Corpo-

rate Award 2018 under the power generation category. Thisis the seventh times in a row that Summit Power Limited hasreceived this recognition from the ICMAB for corporate gov-ernance.

The award ceremony was held at the Hotel InterContinental,Dhaka recently. Vice Chairman of Summit Group Md FaridKhan, Director Azeeza Aziz Khan, Managing Director of Sum-mit Power Lt Gen (Retd) Eng Abdul Wadud, Managing Direc-tor of Summit Gazipur II Power & Summit Ace Alliance PowerEng Md Mozammel Hossain, Chairman of Bangladesh Secu-rities and Exchange Commission Dr. M. Khairul Hossain,Chairman of CABC Committee of ICMAB Mohammad AliNewaz FCMA, and President of ICMAB M. Abul KalamMazumdar FCMA were also present among the dignitaries.

SPL Wins ICMAB BestCorporate Award

A man died aftersustaining se-vere burn in-juries in areported gas

cylinder explosion in Hasnabad area of Keraniganj recently. Thedeceased was identified as Mahiuddin Mahi, 52, owner of amattress shop where the fire broke out during the blast.

According to Shah Zaman, officer-in-charge of Keraniganj po-lice station, doctors declared Mahiuddin dead after he wastaken to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Witnesses said that the fire occurred due to a gas cylinder blast.Five units of Postogola and Keraniganj Fire Service stationsbrought the fire under control after an hour of frantic efforts, saidNuruzzaman, deputy director of the Fire Service.

Meanwhile, a garment worker was killed and ten other pedes-trians were injured as a wall of a sweater factory collapsed onthem following a blast inside garment factory at Gouripur inAshulia recently.

The deceased was identified as Rima Khatun, 20.

Anwarul Haq, Savar fire service zone commander, said thatwhen a gas heater machine of Natural Sweater Village Ltd fac-tory exploded, a wall of the two-storied factory collapsed onRima and ten others who were passing through the area, leavingRima dead on the spot.

'Gas Cylinder Blast' KillsTwo in Keraniganj, Savar

9

Cover

January 1, 2020

The year 2020 is going to be avery important year forBangladesh in many considera-

tions. The countdown for ‘MujibBarsho’ on the occasion of birth cente-nary of the father of the nation Banga-bandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman willbe launched on January 10, markinghis homecoming day. The forwardmarch to achieve economic develop-ment of the war-ravaged countrythrough ensuring effective and eco-nomic use of fuel that was started byhis historic initiatives. Not only theanti-liberation syndicate energized

through the midnight massacre of Au-gust 15 in 1975, the initiatives and poli-cies of his government to createcompetent human resources for explo-ration and exploitation of own resourceshave also been abandoned. The AwamiLeague-led government assuming officein 1996, following the 21-year rule ofmilitary dictators, resumed the develop-ment works of the energy and powersector through formulating blueprintsfollowing the doctrines of Banga-bandhu. Notable achievements couldbe made in five years. A foundation forredeveloping a modern, dynamic en-ergy and power sector could be virtuallylaid. The main essence of Banga-bandhu’s policy was making power sup-ply hassle-free for achieving andensuring economic development of thecountry. That has to be affordable also.Instead of imported fuel dependency, hethought about the need for effective useof own fuel, especially the natural gasresources. Besides natural gas, thethoughts for exploration of other primaryfuel coal also started during his regime.But at the door step of the golden jubileeof glorious independence in 2021,

Bangladesh is approaching towards 90percent dependence on imported pri-mary fuel. The Awami League-led gov-ernment over the past 11 years hascompletely failed to supply power andenergy at an affordable cost. The powertariff required increasing in phases forseveral times to manage the situation.For utilizing the imported LNG in thewake of depletion of own natural gas,the price of gas needed to be increasedtoo. Consumers have already becomepanicked due to increased electricityand gas prices. Energy experts and lead-ers of Consumers Association ofBangladesh have alleged that this situa-tion has been created due the failures ofthe government in exploring and ex-ploiting own primary fuel resources.Even now, no such initiative is visible forsourcing low-cost fuel option.

From the present situation, it would notbe easy at all to start turning around in2020 towards self-sustaining energy andpower sector. State Minister for Power,Energy and Mineral Resources NasrulHamid also thought that supplying reli-able power at affordable cost is now themain challenge of the government. The

challenges, according to him, are effi-cient use of fuel for power generationand supplying power efficiently to allconsumers. The other main challenge,however, is increasing contribution ofown fuel to the fuel mix. This is not aneasy task though.

Experts and analysts of the energy andpower sector observed that ensuringseamless supply of primary fuel wouldbe a major challenge for the governmentin 2020. This has to be at affordableleast cost also. For this, contribution ofown gas and coal needs to be increasedthrough expeditious exploration and ex-ploitation. On the other hand, we haveto ensure that the price remains compet-itive with the neighboring countries. Un-fortunately, over the past 11 years thegovernment over its consecutive termshas miserably failed to explore and ex-ploit own primary fuel resources, for ex-ample, natural gas. The government alsofailed to adopt right policy and strategyfor exploiting discovered coal reserve.The government is talking about expe-diting exploration initiative for gas in theonshore, but nothing is being heardabout exploring coal. The government

11January 1, 2020

Power and energy sector of Bangladesh have grownhuge now than ever before. We have failures, but our

achievements are also significant. The greatest challengefor us is ensuring uninterrupted quality power supply. Ofcourse, that has to be at affordable cost. This is our mainchallenge in 2020. Achieving this is not going to be easyat all. For this, we have to restrict reliance on importedprimary fuel as far as practical. We have to increase con-tribution of own gas for this. I believe that we have greatpossibility of discovering new gas resources. In 2020, wewill give top priority to gas exploration. We have to createopportunities for IOCs, getting out of BAPEX-alone strat-egy. A proposal of Chevron is under final review of thegovernment now. Alongside onshore exploration, we arealso looking into the possibility of expediting commence-ment of deep water exploration in the Bay of Bengal. Coal

is another major primaryfuel resource. In my opin-ion, decision for miningown coal and setting up ofmine mouth power plantsshould be taken. We are waiting for directives of thePrime Minister for this.

I believe that Petrobangla lacks initiative for exploringnew gas resources. We are working to reinvigoratePetrobangla. We believe that we can expedite petroleumexploration in 2020.

On the other hand, 2020 will also be an important year forachieving fuel efficiency in power generation and enhancing ef-ficiency of power transmission and distribution. These will alsoact to reduce cost and making power supply more affordable.

Increasing Own Fuel Contribution,Ensuring Reliable Power Supply MajorChallenges Nasrul Hamid MPState Minister, Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral ResourcesGovernment of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Nasrul Hamid MP

is still hesitating to take a political deci-sion in this regard. Exploration of coalnow entirely depends on the Prime Min-ister’s mindset and directives.

Natural Gas, LNG Own natural gas used to contributeabout 89% of the fuel mix for powergeneration in 2009 when the AwamiLeague-led government returned topower for the second term. That contri-bution has dropped to 62% now. But thegas crisis started rocking at least twoyears before 2009. The interim caretakergovernment for managing the gas crisis

diverted the gas to power, suspendingsupply to new industries. The interimgovernment had also initiated process toset up liquid fuel-based power plants asa contingency measure for confrontingthe crisis. Short, medium and long-termpower generation strategies wereworked out in 2009 for implementingthe fuel mix in accordance with thePower System Master Plan 2010. Basi-cally, with the intention to supply powerat affordable cost, 50% of the 40,000MW power generation target by 2030was planned for generation from coal.

Local coal was given priority in thisplanned fuel mix. Contribution of natu-ral gas was planned to be 25%. The sce-nario of depletion of own gas reservewas taken into consideration. Initiativewas taken on urgent basis for the importof LNG. The plan was to start LNG im-port within two years through setting upFloating Storage and Regasification Unit(FSRU). But the first 3.5 million tonnesper annum FSRU came into operation atthe end 2018. A similar capacity FSRUalso became operational in 2019. Theproduction of own gas in 11 years could

12January 1, 2020

The government has failed to make energy and power sec-tor sustainable despite getting enough time over the three

consecutive terms. There were not too much challenges inachieving over 20,000 MW installed power generation ca-pacity over this period. It has been possible through invest-ment of donor agencies and private sector investors. ButBangladesh is lagging way behind in setting up of modern re-liable power transmission and distribution system. In my opin-ion, it could be a great achievement if we could set aself-sustaining reliable 10,000 MW power supply system. Thepower generation cost is increasing by about 30-40% for pay-ing capacity charge to idle generators. This is completely un-desirable. The industrialization did not take place asanticipated over the past decade. Major industries are notshowing any interest in grid power for the issues like reliabilityand relatively higher price than the captive power. The powerdemand as such is not increasing as industries remain mostlydependent on captive power still.

Payra power plant is a classic example of lack of coordinationamong different entities of power sector. The power evacua-tion facilities must have been completed alongside the com-pletion of the plant construction. At this stage, it is not surewhen the plant can start commercial operation. Ensuring ac-cess of power to all by 2020 is a commendable success. Butthe question is how reliable will be that power supply? It isalso not clear how long will it take to ensure reliable powersupply to all. For this to achieve, quicker transmission and dis-tribution segments may be opened to private investors. Butthere exists considerable doubts whether that will be as at-tractive as that in the power generation.

The gas sector is also not outside the crisis. We have devel-oped infrastructure for 1000 MMCFD RLNG injection to na-

tional gas grid. But till nownot more than 600 MMCFDcould be taken. Last year, theaverage supply was 300MMCFD. We have to accountfor service charge for 1000MMMCFD. This is alsoadding to the cost of LNG.Initiative has been taken for setting up a land-based LNG ter-minal. Gas grid must be ready for evacuating this LNG beforethat plant becomes operational.

The government has completely failed in the exploration ofoil, gas and coal over the past 11 years. Consequently, we arebecoming more and more dependent on imported primaryfuel. This is putting additional burden on consumers for pay-ing higher power tariff and energy price. Has the governmentany study on how this impact would be confronted?

In my opinion, the greatest challenge for the government in2020 would be expediting oil and gas exploration. Even if itstarts under a clear and transparent policy in 2020, it will take2-3 years to gather momentum. The government must initiatesimultaneous activities in onshore and offshore areas. TheIOCs must be given opportunities for bidding even in onshoreareas in addition to the offshore. If this happens, we may startgetting positive results from 2023. Otherwise, power genera-tion would gradually become exclusively dependent on im-ported fuel. That will require power tariff and energy pricehike in several phases.

I believe that the government must work out a comprehensiveplan for power and energy sector. Lessons must have beenlearnt from past failures. Otherwise, Bangladesh would be leftbehind in the race for becoming a developed country.

Govt Fails to Make Power, EnergySupply SustainableProf. Dr. Ijaz HossainProfessor, Chemical Engineering Department Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology

Prof. Dr. Ijaz Hossain

be increased from 1600MMCFD to 2700 MMCFD.There is hardly any success infinding new gas resourcesover the past 19 years. Overthis period, about 13 Tcf gashas been consumed, but thenew addition is only about 2Tcf. Moreover, these are onlymarginal gas fields.

The recoverable reserve ofnatural gas in Bangladesh is27.9 Tcf. Out of this, 16.9 Tcfhas already been used. Theremaining reserve is 11 Tcf.Petrobangla informed that theentire reserve would be de-pleted by 2031 if no new re-serve is added throughdiscovery in the meantime.The total number of gas con-sumers is now 4.2 million. Of the 27 dis-covered gas fields, 20 are in operationwith 112 producing wells. The coinci-dent peak demand is 3685 MMCFD.Adding RLNG, the maximum supply ca-pacity now is 3300 MMCFD. There ex-ists 385 MMCFD of deficit now. The

RLNG-supplying capacity is 1000MMCFD. But for restricted capacity ofthe gas grid, the RLNG supply now is600 MMCFD. Over the last one year,300 MMCFD RLNG could be suppliedon average per day. Around 1600MMCFD of the 2700 MMCFD own gasis coming from IOC-operated gas fields.

Of the gas produced, 42.9% is beingused for power generation, 15.64% forcaptive power, 15.76% in industries,15.21% by the domestic consumers,5.5% for fertilizer production, 4.05%goes to the CNG fuelling stations andthe remainder to commercial con-sumers. It has been seen over the past

13January 1, 2020

In naked eyes, it appears now that there is surplus genera-tion capacity, but not enough demand of grid power is

there. But the suppress demand cannot be converted to de-mand now. Most of the major industries are still relying onoff grid captive power. They cannot have confidence onthe reliability of grid power supply. Moreover, for manydifferent reasons, the required momentum in industrializa-tion has not been achieved up to the expectation. Therewas high expectation that investors would respond mas-sively to invest in special economic zones the governmentis now setting up. Consequently, the demand for gridpower is not increasing as expected. For this, power gener-ation cost is increasing as capacity charges for some plantsrequire to be accounted for even after leaving these idle.The end users are made to bear the brunt through in-creased power tariff. These are not desirable.

This situation has arisen for failure in expanding and mod-ernizing power transmission and distribution system com-

mensurate with the powergeneration. This has putpower sector in huge chal-lenge. In my opinion, a detailtechno-economic feasibilitystudy must be conducted foridentifying bottlenecks andlimitation of power transmission and distribution segments.Planning for updating the system must be done based onthat. We must do this as soon as possible without wastingtime. Unbalanced growth through irrational investmentacross the power value chain has created the present issues.

Making power system mainly the transmission and distri-bution segments more reliable and dependable for qualitypower supply on consistent basis is the major challenge ofpower and energy sector in 2020. If required actions canbe taken, the demand would increase and power tariff canbe made rational and affordable.

Technical Study Must for Resolving Issuesof Reliable Power Supply Engr. SA Mayeed Former Chairman, Bangladesh Power Development Board

Engr. SA Mayeed

Payra coal­fired power plant

four years that the annual gas use isabout 1 Tcf.

Over the last 10 years till August 2019,only 4 fields (Sundalpur, Sreekail, Rup-ganj and Bhola North) could be discov-ered from 17 exploration wells. Fourdrilling rigs were purchased for BAPEX.Apart from the exploration wells, 55 de-velopment wells were drilled and 36wells were worked over. Compressorstations were set up on the gas grid andwellheads.

Coal PoliticsIn PSMP 2010, coal was considered aspreferred fuel for power and 20,000MW power was planned to be gener-ated from coal. But in PSMP 2015,planned contribution of coal wasbrought down to 35%. Almost the entirecoal is planned to come through import.Right now about 22000 MW coal-basedpower generation initiatives are undercontract, negotiation and implementa-tion stages. Of these, 660 MW capacityof the first of the 2X660=1320 MWPayra Power Plant is now ready for com-mencing operation. Construction worksfor power plants at Rampal and Matar-bari are also advancing. The preliminaryworks of a private sector S Alam Group1320 MW power plant at Bashkhali hasalso started. But no deep sea coal portfor coal import could be constructed bynow. For shallow draft, coal is beingbrought using smaller 20,000 MT ca-pacity vessels for Payra power plant

now. Deep sea coal terminal at Matar-bari is expected to come into operationin 2023. The capacity initially would be5 million tonnes a year. There is a planto expand the capacity to 30 milliontonnes coal transshipment terminal infuture. The planned target to implementthis is by 2030. Consequently, all im-ported coal-based power plants else-where than Matarbari have to importcoal by transshipment. This would addabout USD 10-20 per tonne for coal

transportation. As such coal transporta-tion would present a major challenge forall imported coal-based power plantsother than those at Matarbari. Payra PortAuthority has a plan for developing adeep sea coal terminal. But there is nodefinite timeframe as yet when it willmaterialize. This has limited the possi-bility for getting power at affordable costfrom imported coal-based power plants.Right now local coal effectively con-tributes only about 2% to fuel mix for

power. But for inefficient min-ing, the price of local coal isUS$130 per tonne.

Five discovered coalfields ofBangladesh (Barapukuria,Phulbari, Dighipara, Khalaspirand Jamalganj) have a totalproven reserve of 3.3 billiontonnes. Of these, the miningfrom the largest field at Jamal-ganj having 1.1 billion tonneshas not been found feasible asyet. A study done for extract-ing Coal Bed Methane (CBM)also did not give encouragingresult. Petrobangla has justcompleted a feasibility studyfor mining from Dighipara.A project for open pit min-ing in the Southern flank of

14January 1, 2020

Achieving sustainable supply of primary fuelis the main challenge of power and energy

sector in 2020. The government is heading to-wards 90 percent imported fuel. It is true thatimport cannot be entirely avoided. But importdependency needs to be restricted as far aspractical through ensuring exploration and ex-ploitation of own coal and natural gas re-sources. Supplying power at affordable price cannot be achieved otherwise.

It is a matter of great frustration that nothing has been done over the past 10years. There is not much indication that something significant would be donesoon. Not much has also been done in coordinated manner for oil and gas ex-ploration at onshore. We must bear in mind that there is no option to own fuelresources exploitation. Attaching top priority on national attention in the en-ergy sector, the government has to ensure efficiency, transparency and ac-countability in the power and energy sector.

Exploring Domestic Coal,Gas Main Challenge NowProf Dr. Badrul Imam Supernumerary Professor,Geology Department, Dhaka University

Prof Dr. Badrul Imam

Coal jetty at Payra power plant

Barapukuria mine has been prepared.The government has not given anygreen light for this yet. There is no direc-tive yet also about whether mining willbe done at Dighipara. A Scheme of De-velopment (SOD) with all techno-eco-nomic feasibility studies were submittedin accordance with the contract forPhulbari mining in 2006. But over thelast 13 years, this is waiting for govern-ment approval. A Chines company andlocal Hosaf Group Joint Venture submit-ted a SOD for mining from Khalaspir.During the tenure of the interim govern-ment, a company has been assigned toevaluate it. They identified some inade-quacies in their report and advised forfurther study. But all these remainedburied and gathering dust somewhere.

Energy expert Prof Dr. M Tamim said,“Exploring own coal and setting up ofmine mouth coal power plant is the bestoption for Bangladesh for supplyingpower at affordable cost. There are chal-lenges for mining coal, but there aretechnology for successfully managing allchallenges and impacts. Mining owncoal is now an absolute political issue.

Without political decision, it is no longerpossible to start coalmining now.”

State Minister Nasrul Hamid also ac-knowledged that local coal should beused for power generation. But he alsomentioned that the Prime Ministerwould have to take decision for miningown coal.

Prof Dr. Badrul Imam also observed thatusing local coal is the best option if wewant to supply power at affordable cost.Energy experts and research fellows alsoconsidered that this is the prime time fortaking decision on mining own coal.Cost of mining will increase sharply astime whistles by. On the other hand, itwould be possible to get power fromplants using local coal by 2024 if thedecision for mining is taken in early2020. This would significantly reducethe emerging dependence on importedfuel.

Exploration of Oil & GasOil and gas exploration has practicallylost momentum since long. Relevant ex-perts observed that the BAPEX-onlystrategy for exploration in the onshore

area proved counter productive. Therehas been virtually no effective explo-ration at all. Over the last 10 years, only4 marginal gas fields could be discov-ered from 17 exploration wells. Produc-tion from one has already stopped fordepletion of recoverable reserve. Rightinitiative of the government could helpresolve long standing maritime bound-ary disputes with India and Myanmar inthe Bay of Bengal. Despite that no suc-cess could be achieved in a long timefor exploration from offshore resources.Contractors could not be engaged in 5years of efforts by Petrobangla for 2 non-exclusive multi-client surveys in the Bayof Bengal. Although a company hasbeen selected in 2019, the first phase ofthe survey may not be completed beforewinter 2020. The government has ap-proved the final version of updatedmodel PSC in 2019. Experts observedthat this updated PSC creating some ad-ditional incentives for IOCs may en-courage them for risk investments. Butit is unsure whether without enough re-quired information,the bidding wouldencourage major IOCs. But if the bid-ding round has to wait for the outcomeof multi-client survey, it may not be pos-sible going for it before 2022. Right nowthree IOCs are working in four offshoreblocks. Petrobangla expects that by thefirst half of next year, 4 exploration wellsmay be completed. The date for nextbidding round has not been firmed upyet.

Petrobangla has planned for carryingout and completing more 2D and 3Dseismic surveys by 2023. Over the past10 years, 28,347 line kilometer 2D and5000 square kilometer 3D seismic sur-veys have identified 22 potential struc-tures. Plan has been made for 11exploration wells, 14 development wellsand 15 work overs by 2023. Over thepast 10 years, 13 field compressors havebeen set up for augmenting gas produc-tion. BAPEX developed a five-year megaplan in 2016 for drilling 108 wells whichincluded 53 exploration wells. But prac-tically the overambitious plan couldnow grow to encouraging stage. In a re-cent workshop, State Minister for En-ergy Nasrul Hamid blamed Petrobanglaand BAPEX for thei r inef f ic iency

15January 1, 2020

Lack of coordination is the main problemnow in the works of energy and power sec-

tor of Bangladesh. A chaotic situation prevailsnow in the sector for this. For this reason, de-pendable infrastructure for reliable and qualitypower supply could not be developed despitehaving surplus generation capacity. In my opinion, the main focus in energyand power sector in 2020 must be directed to achieving reliable uninterruptedsupply of quality power. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC)must give their opinion clearly about this to the people.

In reality, the power and energy sector of the government over the past decadehas failed to achieve affordable power supply to the people. Their competenceand capability have now become questionable. For complete failure of thegovernment in exploring and exploiting own primary fuel resource, the govern-ment has made people bearing the brunt of expensive imported fuel. The con-sumers have become panicked about power tariff and gas price hike. Butwithout taking notice of this, the government is going more and more towardsimported primary fuel. This will create enormous stress for the economy.

Lack of CoordinationMain ProblemProf Dr. Shamsul AlamDean Daffodil University Energy Advisor,Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB)

Prof Dr. Shamul Alam

in exploration of oil and gas. But ac-cording to Prof Dr M Tamim, absence ofrequired directives of the government isthe main reason for failures in explo-ration of petroleum resources. For suc-cessful exploration, the blocks and areasoutside BAPEX-allotted blocks onshoreshould be leased out through PSC bid-ding rounds to IOCs. Prof Dr Tamimthought that there would be encourag-ing responses to such bidding round iffresh PSC for onshore blocks is invitedby 2020. Some successes would beachieved by 2023. He suggested thegovernment for not leasing out anyblock in joint venture with BAPEX.

The government is not yet completelyprepared for going to fresh biddinground in the offshore. The governmentcould encourage IOCs more in the off-shore exploration if data bank of infor-mation could be developed by now. Wemust do it quickly and go for bidding assoon as possible. Bangladesh could notachieve any mentionable success in thevast offshore areas as yet. Only requiredextensive exploration can provewhether we really have expected re-source in the vast explored offshore andfrontier areas in the onshore. But thereis considerable doubt about the pre-paredness of the government for this.However, Nasrul Hamid is optimisticthat massive exploration campaign canbe launched from 2020.

Energy EfficiencySustainable and Renewable Energy De-velopment Authority (SREDA) on the be-half of the government is working undera master plan for ensuring efficient useof power and energy. They are workingto achieve a target for reducing 30% ofpower use through implementing effi-cient use of power and energy. The im-pacts of their work started getting visiblenow. Investment has started in the in-dustry sector for enhancing efficiency.Power generation is a major area inBangladesh for increasing fuel effi-ciency. But fuel efficiency in power gen-eration to an acceptable limit has notbeen achieved yet. Power divisionstated of achieving nearly 50% effi-ciency by 2021. Works for constructinghigh efficiency power plants has started.But expected success could not be

achieved yet. The average efficiency inpower generation is now 33%. Theprice of gas is increasing. It will keep onrising with more and more LNG is intro-duced in the fuel mix. The generationcost of power would increase if thisdoes not become more fuel efficient. Ex-perts observed that if fuel efficiency canbe increased to 45%, at least 1.5 timespower can be generated using the sameamount of fuel being used now. The en-hancement of fuel efficiency will be achallenge for the government in 2020.

Imported Fuel Dependency &Price Impact Two FSRUs, each 3.5 million tonnes ca-pacity, have started operation in thecountry for LNG import. The capacity is1000 MMCFD though 600 MMCFDRLNG is being delivered to gas grid

now. Over the last 1 year, 300 MMCFDLNG has been used on average. At leastfor 87 days every year, FSRU cannot op-erate in Bangladesh coastal areas for tur-bulence of the sea during highmonsoon. Petrobangla is accounting forminimum charge to FSRU operatorsthough it fails taking full 1000 MMCFDdelivery for restricted capacity of gasgrid. Bangladesh is purchasing LNGfrom Qatar and Oman under long termcontract. In addition, 17 companieshave been short-listed for supplyingLNG from spot market. The presentLNG price is US$10 per MMBTU. For-mer Power Secretary Dr. Fouzul KabirKhan in a presentation at Dhaka Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry claimedthat Bangladesh is buying LNG at higherthan international market price. The

16January 1, 2020

Catering to the peak power demand has be-come a major issue now for the power sec-

tor. The 12,000 MW peak summer demanddrops down to 6,000-7,000 MW in the winter.The present situation has been created for absence of required growth of gridpower in the industrial sector. The industrial sector continues relying on3,000-4,000 MW captive power. Industries could move out from captivepower if the government could ensure reliable grid power supply by this time.That could increase grid power demand to 16,000 MW by now. On the otherhand, much higher amount of gas is being used in fuel inefficient captivepower plants than plants connected to the power grid. The present success inpower generation could be achieved for facilitating private sector integrationin power generation. In my opinion, reliable supply of quality power can beachieved quickly if the private sector is allowed to invest in power transmis-sion and distribution under a comprehensive policy.

There are allegations that capacity charges are being provided to power plantowners keeping these idle. For this, the government policy is responsible, notthe investors. The government must not extend contracts of those rental, quickrental and IPPs the term of which are expiring. On the other hand, quite a fewmore than 25 years old, fuel-inefficient public sector power plants which haveoutlived their economic life are still kept in operation. These must be retired.Formulating appropriate policies for uninterrupted quality power supply andensuring their seamless implementation are the major challenges for the gov-ernment in 2020.

Private Investment Mustfor Making Transmission,Distribution ReliableImran Karim President, Bangladesh Independent PowerProducers Association (BIPPA); Managing Director, Confidence Group

Imran Karim

landing cost of LNG in India is US$6.00per MMBTU. The government hasabandoned plan for any new FSRU. Ini-tiative has been taken for a land-basedLNG terminal at Matarbari. The initialcapacity would be 7 million tonnesequivalent to 1000 MMCFD. Eventuallythe capacity may be doubled.

Experts believe that long term contractsalone cannot bring down the LNG priceeffectively. We have to go for spot pur-chase. The government may engageconsultant group to look after the nego-tiation. On the other hand, local man-power must be trained effectively togain expertise at all segments of theLNG supply chain. Petrobangla evi-dences state that the gas demand in2021 will be 3600 MMCFD and owngas production will be depleted to 2400MMCFD. LNG import through FSRUand import from India may become1200 MMCFD. Gas demand in 2030would be increased to 4700 MMCFD.Own production would then may standat 1800 MMCFD and LNG availabilitywould be 2900 MMCFD. In 2041, thegas demand would be 5900 MMCFD.Petrobangla expects that including 500MMCFD supply from offshore (in theevent of discovery), own productionwould be 2000 MMCFD and LNGavailability would be 3900 MMCFD.

It appears that about two-thirds or even

more of the projected demand would berequired to be met from imported LNG.Hence, we will have to ensure LNGpurchase from the global market atcompetitive price. Even then, a lotwould depend on global geopoliticsand associated impacts on energy pricein global market.

On the other hand, 66 million tonnes ofcoal will be required every year to meetthe projected demands for the plannedimported coal-based power plants. Atpresent, the entire amount of coal pur-chase is being planned through long-term contracts. Absence of deep seaport would add cost of transportation.The cost of generation would increaseand would be reflected upon power tar-iff.

Uninterrupted Power SupplyThere is no denial of the governmentachievements in the power generation.But the cost of generation remainshigher for not being able to utilize mostof the installed capacity. Consumers arebearing the brunt paying higher powertariff. BIPPA President Imran Karim ob-served that the grid power demandcould be increased to 16000 MW dur-ing high summer of 2019 if power trans-mission and distribution system couldbe developed to make these reliable forsupplying quality power on uninterrupt-ible basis. One example would evi-

dence the lack of coordination amongdifferent utilities in the power sector.Plan for developing power transmissionsystem was made almost at the sametime when imported coal-based powerplant was planned at Payra, Patuakhali.The first 660 MW unit of the2x660=1320 MW is now ready for de-livering power. But the commissioningis being held up for non-completion ofpower evacuation facilities. Industriesare not showing any interest for gridpower as it is not yet reliable foruninterrupted supply. Industries still relyon captive power. Chief Executives ofpower distribution utilities told EP dur-ing discussions that they are movingahead with required projects for makingdistribution system completely reliable.It may take 2-3 years to achieve com-plete success.

Former Chairman of Bangladesh PowerDevelopment Board (BPDB) SA Mayeedtold the EP that the government mustknow where is the shortcomings andbottlenecks in the power transmissionand distribution system and what are themost appropriate actions to addressthese. He suggested carrying out a detailstudy to identify and assess these forsubsequent follow up actions. He sug-gested that all activities for updating andmodernizing power transmission anddistribution system must be done ac-cording to the findings and recommen-

dations of the above studyreport. Nasrul Hamid also ad-mitted the constraints of thepower transmission and distri-bution system. He informedthat works have alreadystarted to confront these chal-lenges for upgrading andmodernizing power supplysystem. In 2020, these workswould be better coordinated.

ConclusionProven gas reserve could notbe increased due to very lim-ited new gas discovery overthe past 20 years. Increasedgas production from discov-ered fields is causing fast de-pletion of the reserve. The gasdemand would grow doublein 2041. There is no option

17January 1, 2020

Under construction grid substation of PGCB

now than importing more andmore LNG even if we launchmajor exploration drive for newgas soon. Possibly right initia-tives can bring down the quan-tity of LNG imports to someextent. On the other hand,Bangladesh is not yet efficientin using gas for power genera-tion, fertilizer production andindustry. To increase this effi-ciency, actions must be taken in2020, along side reinvigoratinginitiatives for oil and gas explo-ration in offshore and onshore.Procurement of LNG must bedone through proper negotia-tion and at competitive price.

Up to 10,000 MW coal-basedpower can be generated for 50years if we can exploit our owndiscovered coal reserve and set uppower plants. Local coal can generatepower at 5 US cents while importedcoal-based power generation costwould not be below 7-8 cents. But thepower plants need to be setting up at themine mouth. This will relieve stress fromnatural gas also. On the other hand, thisalso can reduce dependency on im-ported fuel at least by 50%. In consid-eration of all, there is no other optionbut going for mining own coal withoutwasting any more time. Experts believethat it will be a blessing to the nation ifMPEMR can start this in 2020.

In 2020, another major challenge is ex-pediting construction of deep sea portand land-based coal terminal for sup-plementing initiatives of coal and LNG

import. These must be given top priorityattention for speedy implementation.Fuel supply would be reliable in theevent of failure in completion of coalport and LNG terminal at Matarbari in2023. The cost of power generationwould further increase.

Works for upgrading and modernizingpower transmission and distribution sys-tem under long term plan must get re-quired momentum in 2020 for achievingefficient and reliable power supply. Atten-tion must be directed towards achieving45% efficiency in power generation by2025. The works of different utilities mustbe properly coordinated.

Finally, there is no other option but up-grading and modernizing infrastructuresof power and energy system. In case of a

developing economy, power supply mustbe affordable to all besides making thisreliable and sustainable. Exploration andexploitation of own primary fuel and en-suring its maximum use also need to beensured. Eventually, import of fuel cannotbe avoided. Appropriate utilization ofown fuel can delay the requirement forhuge import in the near future. Optimumuse of own fuel would definitely makesignificant impacts on overall develop-ment of the national economy. Keepingthe higher price of primary fuel in globalmarket, Bangladesh must gradually tran-sit to lower energy-intensive industries.Otherwise, our vision 2021 for becomingmid-income country and vision 2041 fordeveloped economy would be impeded.

18January 1, 2020

EP

Construction of Sediment Mitigation Dike­1 at Matarbari project

The year 2020 will present multi-dimensional challenges forBangladesh. The jumbo set of de-

velopment, after taxing on slippery run-way, has taken off and gatheringmomentum in the sky. It must be let fly-ing to reach destination on time and instyle. The nation would be celebratingthe birth centenary of its dreamer, cre-ator and architect Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman with due fervor andfestivity this year. Like all other sectors,the energy and power sector wouldhave to keep its development momen-tum going and overcoming few lapsesexperienced over the last decade forachieving the SDG7 (quality energy andpower supply to all on sustainable basisat affordable cost ensuring safe and en-vironment development). The chal-lenges of the year are ensuringaffordable mix of fuel (own and im-ported) for achieving economic cost ofgeneration of power, modernizing andsmartening power transmission and dis-tribution network, enhancing efficiencyof power and energy supply, improvinggovernance and curbing corruption andmisuse, commencing long awaited ex-

ploitation of discovered coal reserve,greatly expediting petroleum resourcesexploration. These all sound easy butextremely challenging in implementa-tion in a resource-constraint small coun-try with huge population.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spear-headed Bangladesh Awami League gov-ernment to complete eleventhsuccessive year in a row since 2009.The world community has admired allround development of Bangladesh as itachieved impressive economic devel-opment consistently over the pastdecade. The country is well on its wayfor achieving its vision of mid-incomecountry status by 2021. In all index, it isset for achieving the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals (SDGs) by 2020. Weknow Bangladesh was among the topcountries achieving Millennium Devel-opment Goals (MDGs). As far as the en-ergy and power sector is concerned,even the bitterest critics would agreewithout any hesitation that Bangladeshhas made commendable achievementsin the power sector in the context of thecrisis situation of 2009.

The power generation capacity hasmore than quadrupled to 19,570 MW(Grid Connected Power) as of Decem-ber 2, 2019. Maximum demand servedso far was 12,893 MW on May 29,2019. If 2800 MW captive power gen-eration capacity and 359 MW off gridsolar power capacity are added, total in-stalled capacity now is 22,727 MW.Around 95% of the population havenow access to power. Bangladesh iswell on its course to achieving 24,000MW installed capacity by 2021, thegolden jubilee year of liberation ofBangladesh. If one looks back in retro-spect must agree that the days of dia-bolic power supply crisis, massivepower loadshedding is way past.

Looking at the mix of the primary fuel(56.34% natural gas, 30.69% liquidfuel, 5.93% power import, 2.68% coaland 1.18% hydro), the energy sector an-alysts observe that Bangladesh will haveto do a lot in 2020 and beyond forachieving the sustainable energy secu-rity. Compared with the achievement ofpower generation, unfortunately noth-ing has been achieved in exploiting the

considerable discovered re-serve of own superior qual-ity coal, very little progresshas been achieved in ex-ploration and developmentof own petroleum re-sources at onshore and off-shore. Consequently, theproven recoverable reserveof natural gas keeps deplet-ing alarmingly. The govern-ment has diversified thefuel mix bringing coal asfuel of choice from 2010(PSMP 2010 prescribed50% of targeted 40,000MW generation capacityfrom coal). But till the endof 2019, the contribution ofcoal is not even 2%. Thegovernment introduced im-ported liquid fuel-based

21

Cover Article

January 1, 2020

Don’t Lose Sight of Energy Sector in 2020 Saleque Sufi

Floating LNG terminal at Moheshkhali

contingency power generation planfor a limited period of 3-5 years from2010. But in late 2019 its contributionis over 30%. None of the large im-ported coal-based power plants hascome into operation yet which couldhave relieved the power sector fromusing expensive liquid fuel-based gen-eration. The government’s program forLiquefied Natural Gas (LNG), sup-posed to be materialized by 2014,started through FSRU-based import inOctober 2018. The power tariff re-quired increasing several times andgas price also required adjusting to off-set the impacts of the imported liquidfuel (LNG, LPG, Furnace Oil). Sustain-able energy security in accordancewith SDG7 requires government to en-sure sustainable quality supply ofpower and energy to all at affordablecost. In the present scenario, the gov-ernment needs to do a lot in 2020 insignificantly reinvigorating endeavorsfor exploiting its own fuel resources(coal and gas), smartening its powersupply value chain (transmission anddistribution), professionalizingPetrobangla and its companies andvastly advancing energy and power sec-tor efficiency.

Analysis of Power & EnergyScenarioLet us revisit power generation scenarioas seen in BPDB and Petrobangla web-sites (table-1).

Maximum Demand Served: 12,893MW on May 29, 2019; Fuel Mix (on thebasis of installed capacity) scenario isgiven on table-2.

It appears that no way near the capacitygeneration was achieved. The coinci-dent peak demand is around 60% of theinstalled capacity meaning that spin-ning reserve is about 70-80% of thedemand. This is way above the in-ternational standard of 20%. Thehigh spinning reserve creates highercost of generation and requireshigher power tariff or providing sub-sidy. Supply of natural gas and coalbeing a great issue, the actual fuelmix would be much different. Thecontribution of liquid fuel in thatcase may be about 50%. This also

contributes to higher generation cost.Moreover, single buyer BPDB has to ac-count for capacity charge even if theplants are used for peak shaving only.

All gas wells of the producing gas fieldsare depleting. Some wells already havewellhead compressors installed for sec-ondary recovery and some more wellswould have compressors soon. The ac-tual production from own gas fieldswould continue depleting at the presentalarming rate if not immediate actionsare taken for production enhancement.Experts observe that by 2023 the pro-duction from own gas fields may dropbelow 2000 MMCFD. With the intro-duction of RLNG in gas grid, the totalgas availability has increased to 3760MMCFD. But for non-completion of gas

transmission pipelines, not more than550-600 MMCFD RLNG evacuation ispossible at this stage. Even if 1000MMCFD RLNG is possible from sayMarch or April 2020, the presentdeficit of gas supply would not be mit-igated.

The government has started imple-menting a project for land-based LNGterminal and has adopted a policy forprivate sector to import LNG. But anyland-based LNG terminal may not be-come operational before 2025. In suchsituation, the gas supply would con-tinue to remain in crisis.

Petrobangla and BAPEX did very littlefor exploring new gas resources overthe past decade. BAPEX has the solemandate for carrying out explorationin the onshore. It could discover onlya few marginal gas fields some ofwhich have already depleted. Thegovernment had to abandon the highlyambitious 108 gas well drilling pro-gram. Petrobangla also failed to evenstart exploration in the deep water of

the Bay of Bengal though the maritimeboundary disputes with India andMyanmar was resolved through arbitra-tion. In a recent event in Dhaka, thestate minister for energy and the EMRDsecretary sounded frustrated at theabysmal performance of Petrobanglaand BAPEX.

The Petrobangla and EMRD also failedto convince the government for com-mencing mining from discovered coalmines. Mining from the only operationalmine at Barapukuria has become haz-ardous and expensive. The government-appointed high-powered committeesuggested for open pit mining from theNorthern and Southern flanks of Bara-pukuria and to consider mining from

Phulbari after getting the documentssubmitted the Scheme of Develop-ment (SOD) by a foreign companyvetted by an internationally accred-ited consultant. Mining can also beconducted from Dighipara and Kha-laspeer. But Petrobangla did nothingto positively move with mining.

This leaves the increasing reliance onimported fuel for meeting the grow-ing fuel demand. The government

22January 1, 2020

has no option but to continue import-ing petroleum products (furnace oil,diesel), LPG and LNG. Now it is goingahead for importing coal.

Need Expediting PetroleumExploration Petrobangla must let out a fresh bid-ding round for engagement of IOCthrough PSC for offshore exploration byFebruary 2020 so that IOCs can be se-lected and agreements signed by Oc-tober — November 2020. It could besuggested to let out bidding for Westernregion and deeper prospect explorationof existing gas fields in 2020 as well.Bangladesh must not leave any stonesunturned for discovering additional gasresources before the proven resourcecompletely depletes. There are stillsome reservations about fiscal and fi-nancial incentives in updated ModelPSCs. But these can be resolved for ar-riving at Win-Win PSCs. ButPetrobangla must be more professionaland much more technically equippedwith competent manpower in 2020.

Power Sector Scenario The power sector by adopting the liquidfuel contingency plan has successfullyconfronted the crisis. The Speedy Sup-ply of Power and Energy (Special Provi-sions) Act 2010 allowed the governmentto engage companies for power genera-tion based on unsolicited offers withouttendering. Even some companies wereengaged for gas field developmentunder this act. This act was for meetingcrisis situation only. But that act still pre-vails and business as usual the govern-ment procurement rule is still notfollowed. Through mid-term planning,the power sector was supposed to havesome coal-based large power plants bythis time. That could relieve BPDB fromrelying on expensive liquid fuel use. Butunfortunately the challenges for settingup coal import infrastructure (coal portand coal terminal) got extraordinarilydelayed.

The government planned for several im-ported coal-based power projects atMatarbari — Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar,Payra at Patukhali, Rampal at Bagerhat,Bashkhali and few other places. But inconsideration of global reluctance for

coal-fired power and challenges associ-ated with development of import infra-structure, the government needs toreview its coal power generation op-tions.

Three projects are now at differentstages of implementation. Of these, thefirst unit of 2X660 MW imported coal-fired power plant at Payra may start op-eration in early 2020 and the completeplant by end 2020. There are somechallenges for coal transportation as re-quired coal port development in Payramay still take few years. Coal importedusing several smaller shallow draft ves-sels from suppliers or using tranship-ment from mother vessels anchoredsomewhere in the deep sea may not beideal as the additional cost of trans-portation would negate the advantageof lower cost generation.

The 2X660 MW imported coal-basedpower plant at Rampal, Bagerhat maycome into operation in 2023. But likePayra it will encounter similar chal-lenges for coal transportation to theplant site.

The situation is, however, different for2x600 MW power plant at Matarbari.This plant being implemented by CoalPower Generation Company ofBangladesh with the Japanese assistancemay come into operation in 2024. Thecoal port being developed there wouldbecome ready for use by end 2023.

Matarbari coal port would be linkedwith deep water by a 14 KM long 250-meter wide and 18-meter deep linkcanal. The coal port being constructednow can feed the 2x600 MW plantunder construction and another plant ofthe same capacity.

Apart from the above three plants, theprospects of other imported coal-firedpower plants looks uncertain at thisstage. Of course, if the government canstart mining its own coal and improveits railway communication to an ad-vanced level, own coal can be trans-ported by railway to Payra, Rampal andother places accessible to Railway. Buteven then, accessing to funding for largecoal-fired power generation from devel-opment agencies and internationalbanks would become extremely difficultgiven the global resistance against fossilfuel.

LNG remains a potential option. Theglobal price of LNG is expected to re-main stable for a while as global marketis now over supplied with LNG.Bangladesh can expedite constructionof land-based LNG terminal at Matar-bari where up to 3000 MMCFD capac-ity LNG terminal is a possibility. JICAhas negated the possibility of land-based LNG terminal at Payra, consider-ing the requirement of huge capitaldredging that would be required forkeeping the 90KM channel all sea-son navigable. However, this can be

23January 1, 2020

reviewed.

The 2x1200 MWRooppur NuclearPower plant by 2025would be a blessingfor Bangladesh. In2020, considerableprogress is expectedof this project as theconstruction workhas gathered mo-mentum there. Oncecommissioned, thiswill provide effectivebaseload to nationalpower grid.

Power import fromIndia is majorachievement. Around 1160 MW ofpresent import is already making greatcontributions. In 2020, all diplomaticparleys should continue for further de-veloping BBIN initiatives for power trad-ing in the region. If an ideal grid can beput into operation, Bangladesh may alsomake its surplus off peak power avail-able for trading in the region.

Power Transmission & Distribution Several projects to upgrade and mod-ernize power transmission and distribu-tion system are in progress. In 2020many of these would reach advancestages. A 400 KV mother grid needs tobe developed as soon as possible to ef-ficiently evacuate power from Payra,Rampal, Matarbari and Rooppur powerplants. SCADA system already in oper-ation may also require strengthening.Smart grid may be set up wherever fea-sible. Modern power substations and re-quired capacity transformers setting upshould be better coordinated. Whereverpossible, power transmission and distri-bution system may be taken under-ground. Significant works are expectedto be completed in 2020 as in 2021Bangladesh may like to see its 100%population better served with reliablequality power supply.

Power Conservation & EfficiencySREDA has completed most of thepreparatory works for renewable energyexpansion, energy conservation and en-hancing efficiency. Both from the supplyside as well as utilization of energy con-

servation and efficiency need achievingfor optimum economic use. Smart me-tering, pre-paid metering, use of effi-cient appliances (certified) shouldgather momentum in 2020. Rooftopsolar power and availability of sparepower to grid, wherever feasiblethrough net metering, would make im-pacts. Mini grid and micro grid shouldbe given priority in distant remoteplaces. Power to all through grid cover-age would prove luxury.

BERC should be better equipped withtrained resources for efficiency auditing.

BERC has Greater Role to PlayApart from determining and suggestingfor approval of power tariff and gasprice adjustment, BERC had additionalrole for auditing efficiency of its license.For human resource constraint, it couldnot start doing that. BERC has to policethe implementation of law, acts andpolicies of power and energy sectorthrough auditing. Let 2020 be thelaunching year of these activities.

Effective Human Capital DevelopmentIt goes without saying that Bangladeshrequires huge army of qualified, trainedhuman resources for better managingimplementation and proper manage-ment of operation of all facilities ofpower and energy value chain. Massivecapacity development programs are inoperation. BPMI and BPI are entrustedentities. Every mega projects have owntraining windows. In 2020 these mustbe properly coordinated and monitored.

Universities and ed-ucational institutesshould set up effec-tive linkages with in-dustries. Graduatesmust be made jobready through suchlinkages. The year2020 must be thestepping stone forthese.

Need BetterCoordinationIt is expected that allgovernment-ownedagencies in powerand energy sectorwould better coordi-

nate in 2020 for achieving the commongoal of sustainable energy security amust for achieving mid income countrystatus and developed economy.

Conclusion Bangladesh would enter 2020 in muchbetter shape with its burgeoning powerand energy sector. The ambitions how-ever, are sky high. But there are fewcredible challenges. Of these, identifiedabove is implementable appropriatefuel mix for power generation, mod-ernising all segments of power and en-ergy value chain, improving governancefor achieving efficiency, human capitaldevelopment. Mining own coal muststart being the best fuel option, importedcoal-based power generation optionmust be reviewed, fresh bidding roundfor offshore exploration must be let offwithout delay in early 2020, BAPEX ca-pacity must be objectively evaluatedand strengthened. BERC must have ap-propriate quality manpower for more ef-ficiently performing its mandated tasks.There must be a process for monitoringperformance of each individual of eachentity. Let the year 2020 set some mile-stones in power and energy sector.

Hope the nation would not lose sight ofessential requirements for power andenergy sector while celebrating the birthcentenary of the father of the nation in2020.

Saleque Sufi;Contributing Editor, EP

24January 1, 2020

Construction works of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

EP

The power and energy ministry hasdoubled the capacity of LNG im-port terminal and re-gasification

while adding 2,153 megawatt (MW) ofelectricity, making the country’s overallinstalled capacity to 19,467 MW in2019.

A new LNG import terminal with a re-gasification capacity of 500 millioncubic feet per day (mmcfd) was addedin the just concluded year, totaling thecountry’s LNG import terminals to twoand LNG re-gasification capacity to 1.0Bcf (billion cubic feet).

The highest electricity generation wasrecorded at 12,893 MW, which is therecord highest electricity generation sofar.

But the demand and consumption didnot increase to that level resulting in re-duction of electricity generation com-pared to capacity throughout the yearand it dipped to around one-third of theoverall capacity during the later part ofthe year due to the sagging electricitydemand in winter, said a senior officialof state-run Bangladesh Power Develop-ment Board (BPDB).

Re-gasification of LNG (lique-fied natural gas) was below600 mmcfd, keeping over 40percent of the capacity unuti-lized, due to capacity con-straints of existing pipelines, asenior Petrobangla officialsaid.

With the increased electricitygeneration capacity andkeeping most of them idle,the BPDB will have to counta huge additional amount incapacity payment to thepower plant owners, said theofficial.

The capacity payment is asort of penalty, which the

state-run entity is bound to pay to thepower plant owners, if the governmentfails to purchase a certain portion of theelectricity readily available with them.

The privately-owned power plants, withmajority of the oil-fired ones, received astaggering Tk 89.29 billion in 'capacitypayments' from the government in fiscalyear (FY) 2018-19. The amount is higherthan the BPDB’s annual revenue short-fall worth Tk 86.08 billion in FY '19.

The plants got the fund without gener-ating any electricity. The capacity pay-ments were 43 percent up from that ofFY '18, worth around Tk 62.41 billion.

The BPDB is keeping the country's over-all electricity generation to lower leveldue to decline in demand, a senior offi-cial told the EP. Some power plants havebeen asked to suspend their operationsand some others to do maintenancework, he added.

According to the BPDB statistics, thecountrywide electricity generation dur-ing the day-time peak hours on Decem-ber 18 was 6,644 megawatts (MW), just34.12 percent of the total installed ca-

pacity of 19,467 MW.

However, available electricity at substa-tion end, excluding transmission loss,was only 6,277 MW.

Electricity generation during eveningpeak hours on December 18 was 8,479MW, which was 43.55 percent of thetotal installed capacity. Available elec-tricity at substation end, excluding trans-mission loss, was 7,877 MW.

The BPDB statistics shows that the over-all electricity generation during daypeak hours one year ago on December18, 2018 was 6,301 MW. Electricitygeneration during evening peak hourson the same day was 7,865 MW.

A total of 17 new power plants, havingthe total generation capacity of 2,135MW, came into operation over the pastone year since February 2018. But, thecountry's overall electricity consump-tion increased marginally.

The BPDB is the lone buyer of electric-ity from the power producers across thecountry. The agency then sells the elec-tricity to the distribution companies that

25

Special Report

January 1, 2020

Energy Sector Witnesses ‘Unplanned’ Growth Azizur Rahman

132KV Substation, Jamalpur 100 MW Power Plant

supply it to the end-users.

Petrobangla is paying ‘capacity pay-ments’ or ‘rents’ to the LNG terminalowners without re-gasifying the ex-pected level of LNG in the FSRUs (float-ing, storage and re-gasification units).

The Petrobangla is currently re-gasifyingaround 600 mmcfd of LNG from twoLNG import terminals against their ca-pacity to re-gasify around 1,000 mmcfd.

Petrobangla has deals with the terminalowners to pay around US$ 450,000 (Tk38.25 million) per day to re-gasify up toaround 1,000 mmcfd of LNG, a seniorpetrobangla official told the EP.

According to the deal, Petrobangla is re-quired to pay the US’s Excelerate En-ergy’s FSRU around $237,000 per dayand to Summit’s FSRU around $217,000per day. It will have to pay the similaramount to Excelerate Energy and Sum-mit Group no matter it re-gasifies theagreed quantity or less, he added.

Both the deals are on take or pay basis,meaning Petrobangla will have to paythe said amount after commissioning ofthe FSRUs, no matter it re-gasifies ornot. Both the FSRUs are designed to re-gasify around 500 mmcfd, which is theagreed quantity between thePetrobangla and contractor.

The first LNG terminal owned by US’s

Excelerate Energy initiated commercialoperation on August 18, 2018 after im-porting the first LNG with Excelerate’scommissioning cargo on April 24, 2018.The country’s second LNG import ter-minal owned by Summit and Mitsubishistarted operation on April 29, 2019 dou-bling the total LNG re-gasification ca-pacity to 1,000 mmcfd.

Supplying of additional re-gasified LNG from the FSRUswill not be possible until theconstruction works of twonecessary pipelines — a 90-km pipeline connecting Mo-heshkhali to Anwara, andanother 181-km pipelineconnecting Chittagong, Feniand Bakhrabad — are com-pleted, said a senior GTCL of-ficial.

State-run Gas TransmissionCompany Ltd (GTCL) is re-sponsible for building gastransmission pipelines in thecountry.When contacted, energy ad-viser of the Consumers Asso-ciation of Bangladesh (CAB)Professor M Shamsul Alam

said the power and energy sector is wit-nessing ‘unplanned’ growth. Common-ers are bearing the brunt, he added.

Azizur Rahman;JournalistAzizjst@yahoo.com

26January 1, 2020

EP

Report

Russia’s state atomic energy corpo-ration — Rosatom looks forward for

further co-operation with India in thefield of Light Water Reactors (LWR).Rosatom experts were addressing asession of the international conferencetitled “Future of Light Water ReactorTechnology in India”, held in Mumbairecently.

The conference was organized by theBhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC) and Nuclear Power Corpora-tion of India Limited (NPCIL) under theaegis of Homi Bhabha National Insti-tute (HBNI).

Rosatom experts in their presentationsaddressed topics on further develop-

ment of cooperation between Russiaand India in the sphere of light waterreactors, specific features of their li-censing and safety requirements,safety features of VVER 1200 reactorsas well as perspectives of small modu-lar reactors development.

The conference was dedicated to thefuture utilization of Light Water Reac-tors in India to supplement existingplans of construction of heavy waterpressurized reactors. During the con-ference participants discussed issuesand possibilities of localization of lightwater reactor systems manufacturingwithin the framework of the “Make inIndia” program.

Russia for Better Cooperation onLight Water Reactors with India

EP

LNG metering station at Moheshkhali

27

Report

January 1, 2020

With over 300 Japanesecompanies already

working in Bangladesh’s de-velopment projects, theenvoy from the land of therising sun believes moremega investments from hiscountry is possible providedadequate local support isavailable.

Naoki Ito, the Japanese am-bassador in Dhaka said in thelast decade, number ofJapanese companies inBangladesh jumped threetimes to 300 now.

Japanese corporate giants arekeen to invest in Bangladesh,he said, adding that Japan To-bacco made its bigger projecthere last year.

“To attract and facilitatemega investment,Bangladesh needs to achieveinfrastructural and supplychain developments,” he saidin an interview.

“However, Bangladesh needs

to improve supply chainmanagement, tax simplifica-tion, cross-border trade, com-petitive policy andintellectual property safe-guard.”

Bangladesh will get more for-eign investment if it facilitatesexisting companies. TheJapanese envoy underscoredneed for more infrastructuraldevelopment and simplifica-tion of taxation and projectapproval procedures.

More Japanese Mega ProjectsPossible: Envoy

The 26th Annual GeneralMeeting (AGM) of Gas

Transmission Company Lim-ited was held at Kaliganj inGazipur recently.

Company’s shareholders anddirectors were present in themeeting, said a press release.

During the FY 2018-2019, thecompany earned an amountof Tk. 997.65 crore revenue

by transporting24,786.54 million cubicmeter gas and 249.59

million liter condensate.

The company earned Tk.320.89 crore pre-tax profitand contributed to the na-tional exchequer a totalamount of Tk. 748.19 crore asprincipal loan, interest onloan, CD VAT and excise dutyand income taxes during theFY 2018-2019.

GTCL Holds AGM

EP

EP

State Minister for Power,Energy and Mineral Re-

sources Nasrul Hamid re-cently came down heavily onthe top executives ofPetrobangla and Bapex fortheir ‘failure’ to work out anyeffective plan in the last sev-eral years.

He warned them of retrench-ing manpower as happenedin Desco and DPDC for theirpoor performances.

“We’ll reassess your humanresources if we don’t haveour works done by you,” hetold the officials of the twoorganizations while address-ing a seminar titled “Hydro-carbon Exploration inBangladesh: Progress & Chal-lenges” organized by Bapex(Bangladesh Petroleum Ex-ploration and ProductionCompany) at its auditoriumin the city.

Petrobangla is the state-

owned principal organiza-tion in the country’s hydro-carbon exploration,production and marketing inboth upstream and down-stream while Bapex has beenits subordinate body engagedin exploration and produc-tion activities.

Held with senior secretary ofenergy division Abu HenaMd Rahmatul Muneem in thechair, the seminar was alsoaddressed by Petrobanglachairman Ruhul Amin,Bapex managing director MirMohammmad Abdul Han-nan and energy expert SyedBadrul Imam.

Nasrul Hamid said this is un-fortunate that Petrobanglaand Bapex were asked togive plans for their futureworks but both failed to doso.

“Even Petrobangla was askedto organize a seminar to dis-

Nasrul Slams Petrobangla, BapexOfficials for Poor Performance

cuss the future activities ofhydrocarbon exploration. Butit failed to organize it,” thestate minister said.

Voicing his resentment, Nas-rul said the government isvery serious about domesticgas exploration as it has to

import huge gas from abroad.

Petrobangla and Bapex have tothink in a wider perspectiveand engage themselves in thatway. But the biggest challengeis their human resourceswho’re not ready to think outof the box,” he said.

Naoki Ito

EP

29

Report

January 1, 2020

Bangladesh Bank (BB)Governor Fazle Kabir

said concerted efforts of allthe academics, scientists andresearchers concerned is verycrucial to supplement thegovernment’s relentless ef-forts of achieving the Sustain-able Development Goals(SDGs) within the time-frame.

"Reaching the messages ofSDGs to grassroots peoplecan be a vital means ofachieving those successfullyby 2030," he said while ad-dressing the closing sessionof an SDG related two-day-long workshop at SenateBuilding of Rajshahi Univer-sity (RU) recently.

RU's statistics departmenthosted its seventh interna-tional conference on 'DataScience and SDGs: Chal-lenges, Opportunities and

Realities'.

The two-day conference wasincluded two keynote pre-sentations, five plenary ses-sions, meeting with invitedguest and presenting 18 con-tributory papers.

Statistical inference, infer-ence in stochastic processes,statistical computing, biosta-tistics, reliability, survivalanalysis and industrial statis-tics were the major focusareas of the conference.

Chaired by RU Vice Chancel-lor (VC) Prof Abdus Sobhan,the function was addressedby former BB Deputy Gover-nor Dr Sohrab Uddin, RUPro-VCs Prof Ananda KumarShaha and Prof ChowdhuryZakaria as special guests.Convener of the conferenceProf Sayedur Rahman alsospoke on the occasion.

BB Governor for CollectiveEfforts to Achieve SDGs

The Asian DevelopmentBank (ADB) will provide

US$333.26 million loans forexpansion of power transmis-sion lines and designing theDhaka Mass Rapid Transit(MRT) line.

In this regard, the governmentrecently inked several agree-ments with ADB at a functionat the National EconomicCouncil (NEC) conference

room in the capital, said apress release.

Economic Relations Division(ERD) Secretary MonowarAhmed and ADB Country Di-rector Manmohan Parkashsigned the agreements on be-half of their respective sides.

For expanding power trans-mission lines in greater Dhakaand the western zone ofBangladesh, the government

signed agree-ment for€271.84 million($300 millione q u i v a l e n t )loans.

Besides ADB’sloan, the Asian

ADB to Provide $333m for Power,Transportation Sectors

Outgoing Turkish Ambas-sador in Bangladesh

Devrim Ozturk said recentlyTurkey is interested to investin the energy sector ofBangladesh.

"Turkish investment is com-ing to Bangladesh. Turkishentrepreneurs are interestedto invest in the energy sectorhere," he said when he metPrime Minister Sheikh Hasinaat her official residenceGanobhaban in the city.

PM's Press Secretary IhsanulKarim briefed reporters afterthe meeting. The outgoingambassador said they areready to share technologieswith brotherly countries likeBangladesh.

He highly praised the eco-

nomic development ofBangladesh under the leader-ship of Prime Minister SheikhHasina. "This credit goes toyou (PM). It (economic devel-opment) is your success. I'vewitnessed how fastBangladesh progressed dur-ing my tenure," the envoywas quoted as saying.

In reply, the Prime Ministersaid her government's maingoal is to make village-cen-tric development so that ruralpeople could get its benefits.

She said now the country'sGDP growth is 8.15 per centwhile the per capita incomeUS$ 1909. Besides, thepoverty rate has now de-clined to 20.5 per cent from41 per cent in 2005.

Turkey Keen to Invest in BD'sEnergy Sector

EP

EP

Infrastructure InvestmentBank (AIIB) is considering$200 million in co-financingto finance transmission lines,substations and an enterpriseresource planning system.

The assistance also comprisesa $750,000 grant from thePeople’s Republic of China’sPoverty Reduction and Re-gional Cooperation Fund(PRC Fund).

Manmohan Parkash said up-grading and expanding the

transmission network is cru-cial to improve power supplyefficiency after significant im-provement in power produc-tion in Bangladesh.

“The project will help achievethe government target of elec-tricity for all by 2021 by im-proving the reliability andefficiency of the electricitysupply in the greater Dhakaand western zone ofBangladesh,” he added.

EP

30

Report

January 1, 2020

Captive power plants pro-ducing up to 10

megawatts (MW) of electric-ity for industrial units will nolonger require any approvalfrom the Power DistributionCompanies.

The Energy and Mineral Re-sources Division will issue anofficial order in this regardsoon.

Industrial units are now re-quired to obtain No Objec-tion Certificate (NOC) frompower distribution compa-nies before operating anycaptive power plants.

The new order will set thethreshold for the size of cap-tive power plants allowed tobe operated without any ap-proval from the authorities.

The move came as part ofmaintaining a balance in theefforts to discourage the sup-ply of natural gas to captive

power plants.

In a meeting last month, thePower Division favored a no-tion for allowing captivepower generation until unin-terrupted power supply is en-sured to industrial units.

“We suggest relaxing theconditions for captive powerplants to get natural gas sup-ply for producing electricityto run their industries untilwe can ensure uninterruptedpower supply to industries,”Additional Power DivisionSecretary AKM HumayunKabir said at a meeting ofBangladesh Energy andPower Research Council(BEPRC).

The previous order issued inAugust this year asked the in-dustrialists to obtain NOCfrom power distribution com-panies for setting up any cap-tive power station.

Govt Relaxes Rules for CaptivePower Plants

Coal imports are soaring tofuel hundreds of brick

kilns that produce the keyconstruction material to feedthe growing demand fromboth public and private sec-tors.

Imports of the fossil fuel rose70 percent year-on-year to57.54 lakh tonnes in fiscalyear 2018-19, customs datashowed.

In monetary terms,Bangladesh’s private im-porters spent Tk 3,182 crore

to buy coal in the last fiscalyear, and the cost of importof the fuel was two and a halftimes the import cost threeyears ago.

“The number of brick kilns isincreasing. Kilns cant’ burnbricks without coal as thegovernment has banned theuse of firewood,” said SyedAtiqul Hassan, president ofthe Bangladesh Coal & CokeImporters Association(BCCIA).

He said 98 percent of the im-ported coal areused to burn bricksto support the in-creasing demandfrom public andprivate sector con-struction.

Coal Imports Surge on RisingDemand for Bricks

The board of directors ofKhulna Power Company

Ltd, a listed company, has de-cided to acquire 35 per centordinary shares in UnitedPayra Power Plant Ltd.

Acquisition of shares ofUnited Payra Power is sub-ject to obtaining regulatoryapprovals of relevant author-ities, said an official disclo-sure recently.

United Payra Power Plant ex-ecuted a power purchase

agreement with BangladeshPower Development Boardon August 21 this year.

As per the agreement withthe government, UnitedPayra Power will develop a150 MW HFO (heavy-fuel-oil) power plant at Patuakhalion Build-Own-Operate(BOO) basis for 15 years fromthe date of commercial oper-ation, said the disclosure.

The required commercial op-eration date (RCOD) of the

power plantis November21, 2020 inaccordancewith theterms of theproject agree-ments, itadded.

KPCL to Acquire 35pc Stake inUnited Payra Power Plant

State-run Petrobangla hasplanned to give South Ko-

rean oil and gas firm PoscoInternational six moremonths to carry out itsmandatory contractual obli-gation for hydrocarbon ex-ploration in deep sea blockin the Bay of Bengal.

"Petrobangla intends to offerPosco the additional time toensure the South Koreanfirm's continuation of hydro-carbon exploration job in thecountry," said a seniorPetrobangla official.

The state-run Oil, Gas andMineral Corporation hasmoved to extend the contract

in response to the demandmade by Posco for reviewingthe existing 'commercialterm' of its contract signedwith Petrobangla.

Posco also sought a favorablecost recovery provision in theproduction sharing contract(PSC) which will help the in-ternational oil company re-trieve its investment early.

Earlier, Posco had informedPetrobangla as well as Energyand Mineral Resources Divi-sion under the Ministry ofPower, Energy and MineralResources about its intentionto relinquish deep sea blockDS-12.

Move Underway to ExtendContract with Posco

EP

EP

EP EP

31

Report

January 1, 2020

Consumers Association ofBangladesh (CAB) has

opposed a government moveto raise power tariff from Jan-uary 1, terming it 'unlawfuland against consumers'.

It said Bangladesh EnergyRegulatory Commission(BERC) has allowed high-costbut low-efficient rental/quickrental plants to producepower through misusing the'Gas and Electricity Develop-ment Fund'.

The agency made its opposi-tion at a press conference

convened at Dhaka Re-porters' Unity recently.

CAB president Golam Rah-man, secretary HumayunKabir Bhuiyan, power-relatedcomplaint enquiry and re-search committee presidentSyed Abul Maksud, energyadviser Prof Dr ShamsulAlam and member ProfBadrul Imam spoke.

Urban planner MubassharHussein, among others, alsoaddressed the programme,according to a release.

Power Tariff Hike from Jan 1Not Lawful: CAB

Electricity generationacross the country has

been reduced to around one-third of the overall capacityunder a 'rationing' system inview of the sagging demandin winter.

The state-run BangladeshPower Development Board(BPDB) is keeping the coun-try's overall electricity gener-ation at such a low level dueto decline in demand, said a

senior offi-cial.

Some powerplants have

been asked to suspend theiroperations, and some othersto do maintenance work, headded.

According to the BPDB statis-tics, the countrywide elec-tricity generation during theday-time peak hours onWednesday (December 18)was 6,644 megawatts (MW),just 34.12 per cent of thetotal installed capacity of

19,467 MW.

However, availableelectricity at substa-tion end, excludingtransmission loss,was only 6,277MW.

Power Generation Cut toOne-Third of Capacity

The government is seekingJapan International Credit

Agency (JICA) funding for set-ting up another two units atMatarbari super critical coal-fired power plant complex,official sources said.

According to the power divi-sion officials, the coal-firedpower generation cost willcome down significantlybased on implementation ofanother two units includingunit-3 and unit-4 at Matar-bari in Cox’s Bazar.

“We have already discussed

the issue with the Embassy ofJapan in Dhaka several timesfor funding the unit-3 andunit-4 of Matarbari powerplant through economic rela-tions division (ERD) andmade a proposal in this re-gard,” an official said on con-dition of anonymity.

The preliminary study onMatarbari power project con-ducted by JICA in July 2013kept the provision for unit-3and unit-4.

The ‘Matarbari 1200MWUltra Super Critical Coal-

fired PowerProject’ unit-1 and Unit-2are being im-plemented ata cost ofTk359.84 bil-lion.

Govt Seeks JICA Fund for BuildingTwo Matarbari Power Plant Units

The government is going toimplement three projects

with funding from others, in-stead of Chinese assistance aswas initially planned.

This was disclosed in a recentmeeting where 11 slow-goingprojects came under review.

Bangladesh and China earliersigned a memorandum of un-derstanding (MoU) on'Strengthening Investment andProduction Capacity Cooper-ation' for implementing theseprojects during Chinese Presi-

dent Xi Jin-ping's visit toDhaka inO c t o b e r ,

2016.

The minutes of the recentmeeting show that the threeprojects were undertaken bythe Power Division, the En-ergy and Mineral ResourcesDivision and the BangladeshRailway.

The project titled 'Extension ofthe existing underground min-ing operation of BarapukuriaCoalmine' was included in thelist of schemes for Chinesefunding to increase the pro-duction capacity of the Bara-

pukuria Coalmine.

But recently the ministryconcerned said they werenot interested in the Chi-nese loan for the project asthey want to implement iton their own.

Three Projects Taken OffChinese Funding List

EP

EP

EP EP

32

Report

January 1, 2020

The floating power unit(FPU) Akademik

Lomonosov has been con-nected to the grid and hasstarted supplying electricityin the isolated Chaun-Bilib-ino network in Pevek ofChukotka at Russia’s Far East.

Alexey Likhachev, CEO ofRosatom said, “Following itsconnection to the grid,Akademik Lomonosov be-comes the world’s first nu-clear power plant based onSmall Modular Reactor (SMR)technology to generate elec-tricity. This is a remarkablemilestone for both the Russ-ian and the world’s nuclear

energy industry.”

The project has been wel-comed by scientists, nuclearenergy experts and environ-mentalists across the world.

Kirsty Gogan, Head of Energyfor Humanity, a Londonbased NGO, said,“For hard-to-reach regions, with a cli-mate that is simultaneouslytoo harsh to support the useof renewable energies andtoo fragile to continue itsheavy dependence on fossilfuels, small nuclear, includ-ing floating plants, is the onlyanswer.

Akademik Lomonosov is thefirst step to-wards demon-strating itspotential fordecarbonisa-tion of theArctic and be-yond.”

World’s First Floating NuclearPower Unit Supplies Electricity

to Russian GridThe Cabinet Committee onPublic Purchase (CCPP)

recently approved four pro-curement proposals, includ-ing one for importing 500MW electricity from an In-dian company's power plantin Nepal.

The bulk electricity will beimported through another In-dian company NTPC VidyutVyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN)complying with the Indianregulatory commission'sterms and conditions.

The committee gave the nodto the proposal at a meetingheld with Finance MinisterAHM Mustafa Kamal in thechair.

As per the proposal,Bangladesh will import theelectricity from Indian firm

GMR at a tariff rate of $Cent7.7172 (equivalent to Tk6.4284) per kilowatt hour(each unit) for over a periodof 25 years.

For the import, the govern-ment will have to pay a totalamount of Tk 38,160.75crore to GMR throughNVVN.

It was informed that state-owned Bangladesh PowerDevelopment Board (BPDB)and the NVVN signed a non-bonding memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU).

Under the Power and EnergyIncrease of Speedy SupplyAct 2018, now the BPDB willsign power sales agreement(SPA) with the NVVN to im-port the electricity from theGMR.

Electricity Import from IndianFirm’s Plant in Nepal Okayed

The state-run energy ex-plorer has prepared an op-

erating procedure fromhydrocarbon exploration toproduction aiming to developa new methodology for strik-ing fossil fuel.

The procedure details the re-quired job for any explorer tocarry out seismic surveys, drillwells and find hydrocarbonreserves.

"It will be a sort of guidelinefor carrying out oil and gas

exploration in aplanned way," saida senior official.

An advanced and standardexploration procedure will bedeveloped after carrying outfurther scrutiny, he said.

The Bangladesh PetroleumExploration and ProductionCompany Ltd (Bapex) is ex-pected to follow the proce-dure for exploring oil and gasin future. It will also be fol-lowed by others too.

Officials said Bapex haschalked out a mega pro-

grammeto boosth y d r o -c a r b o nd i s c o v -ery, usingthe latesttechnol-ogy.

Exploring Fossil Fuel

French firm Technip, whichis keen to clinch the con-

tract for building the country'ssecond crude oil refinery, hasrevised down the estimatedcost of its construction to US$2.23 billion.

The oil refinery will have anannual capacity of 3.0 milliontonnes.

The revised cost of this projectis around 20 per cent lowerthan the cost of $2.80 billion asestimated by Technip initially,a senior BPC official said.

But the Indian consultant forproject management of this

work has opined that the costmight be significantly lower ifit is built through tendering, headded.

The Indian consulting firm, En-gineers India Limited (EIL), hasalso estimated that the costmight be around $1.80 billionif the engineering, procure-ment and construction (EPC)contractor is selected throughcompetitive bidding.

The project cost is expected tobe provided by the govern-ment and the state-runBangladesh Petroleum Corpo-ration (BPC).

Technip Revises Down ConstructionCost of Oil Refinery to $ 2.23b

EP

EP

EP

EP

35January 1, 2020

The engineering, pro-curement and construc-tion (EPC) services unit

of Chinese inverter makerSungrow has secured a 35MW solar park contract in theManikganj district ofBangladesh.

The project, which will be thefirst in Bangladesh to featurecentral inverters, is being de-veloped by domestic com-pany Spectra Solar Park Ltdwith financial support fromthe Asian Development Bankand German developmentlender KfW.

Sungrow beat off competition fromstate-owned rivals PowerChina and

China Energy Engineering Corp as wellas ERS Malaysia and the MahindraSusten unit of Indian conglomerateMahindra Group.

The contract was signed recently byImran Chowdhury, country head forSungrow Bangladesh, and he told pvmagazine: “We are really happy to getquick success in [the] Bangladesh mar-ket as [an] EPC and from next year wehave the plan to work as [a] project de-veloper [and] IPP [independent powerproducer] to expand our portfolio in thisemerging market.”

Construction is set to start on the projectby the second week of January withcompletion slated for August. The proj-ect was approved by the Bangladeshigovernment’s cabinet committee onpublic procurement in April 2017.Dhaka is aiming to generate 10% of thenation’s electricity from renewables nextyear. The government will purchasesolar electricity generated at the plantfor 20 years at a rate of Tk 11.12/kWh($0.13).

Sungrow Secures Contract for 35 MW Plant

State Minister for Power, Energy andMineral Resources Nasrul Hamid

recently underscored the need formore research aiming to make the re-newable energy available for the peo-ple.

“Necessary initiatives should be takenfor conducting more research to makethe renewable energy available for the

common people”, saidthe state ministerwhile addressing asthe chief guest at aninnovative idea hunt-

ing grand finale competition on the useof renewable energy at Sheikh HasinaNational Youth Centre.

Despite the price of the renewable en-ergy is comparatively higher, but thissort of the energy is becoming popularin the developed world due to its envi-ronment friendliness, said Nasrul at thefunction arranged by Young Bangla in

cooperation with Power Celland Green Delta Life Insur-ance Limited.

Power Cell Director GeneralMohammad Hossain andManaging Director of GreenDelta Life Insurance LimitedFarzana Chowdhury alsospoke on the occasion amongothers.

Make Renewable EnergyAvailable, Says Nasrul

EP EP

37January 1, 2020

The ENBIO project uses excess energyfrom wind turbines to power sixteen

1,000-litre photo-bioreactors which growalgae that can then be used for biofuels.The project demonstrates how greentechnologies can work together, but canit make algae-derived fuel competitive?GlobalData’s power technology writerUmar Ali investigates.

Ali says: “Algae-derived fuel was an ex-citing prospect for energy companies inthe early 2010s, with a number of invest-ments made into exploring the potentialof algae fuels to combat the climate crisisand facilitate the development of renew-able energy sources.

“In 2010 the Algae Biomass Organisation(ABO) predicted that algae fuel wouldreach price parity with oil by 2018, withABO head at the time Mary Rosenthal ex-pecting “several billions of gallons” ofalgae to be produced as a fuel source by2017.

“However, the reality of algae-based fueltoday is far from the green superfuel pre-dicted by the energy industry, and al-though these algae projects demonstratethe utility of existing renewable energyinfrastructures, the viability of algae as afuel source itself is up for question.

“A major problem with algae as a fuelsource is the high-maintenance growingconditions required to produce the re-quired quantities of algae — the plantsneed large open ponds, and significantvolumes of CO₂ and fertiliser to enablethe algae to photosynthesise fast enoughat large scales.”

ENBIO business development officer Ca-role Shellcock tells GlobalData: “If weare talking about algae-based fuel, pro-duction cost is the main limitation. Forthe moment it’s around £10 per litre ofbiodiesel. The quantity of algae thatneeds to be produced to enter the marketis huge compared to the current globalproduction.”

Can Algae-BasedBiofuels Ever BeCost Effective?

Dominion Energy and Vanguard Re-newables announced a more than

$200 million, nationwide strategic part-nership to convert methane from U.S.dairy farms into clean, renewable natu-ral gas that can fuel vehicles, heathomes and power businesses.

Multiple projects are under develop-ment in Georgia, Nevada, Colorado,New Mexico, and Utah with additionalprojects planned nationwide. Under thispartnership, Dominion Energy will ownthe projects and market the biomethane,and Vanguard Renewables’ subsidiaryClean Energy Investment USA dba Van-guard Renewables Ag will design, de-velop and operate the projects.

“Through our strategic partnership withVanguard Renewables and our strategic

alliance with Dairy Farmers of America,we’re rapidly accelerating the develop-ment of these transformational projectsand for the first time on a nationwidescale,” said Diane Leopold, DominionEnergy’s Co-Chief Operating Officer.

“We’re substantially reducing green-house gas emissions from U.S. dairyfarms, delivering new sources of cleanenergy to U.S. consumers and providinga new source of long-term revenue forfamily farmers across the country.”

A typical dairy waste-to-energy projectconsists of a cluster of multiple farms to-taling 20,000 to 30,000 dairy cows. Themethane produced from dairy manure iscaptured through a process known asFarm Powered® anaerobic digestionand is then transported through low-

pressure gathering lines toa central conditioning fa-cility.

Once the gas is processedand cleaned of any impuri-ties, it is then delivered tolocal consumers throughthe existing undergrounddistribution network.

Source: Dominion Energy

First Nationwide Network of Bio-CNGProjects Under Development in US

EP

Germany’s KfW Development Bankis giving Montenegro a loan of EUR

45 million and a EUR 4.8 million grantfor the third phase of the project for en-ergy efficiency in public buildings.

On behalf of the government in Podgor-ica, minister of finance DarkoRadunović signed the credit contractwhile minister of economy DragicaSekulić inked the part facilitating the do-nation.

“This is a great opportunity both for youand for us,” said Pablo Obrador Al-varez, KfW’s chief of energy and trans-port in Southeast Europe and Turkey.

“We have a large portfolio in the Balkansin the segment of energy efficiency.However, Montenegro was first and welearned from it as an example. This iswhere we had our first experiences andlearned a lot together about implemen-tation. We look forward to further chal-lenges and the realization of theprogram. As far as KfW is concerned, wewill remain your faithful partner.”

The ceremony which will lead to theimprovement in energy efficiency inpublic buildings was attended bydeputy ambassador of Germany CristoffBreuning.

KfW Continues to Fund Energy Efficiencyin Public Buildings in Montenegro

EP

EP

38January 1, 2020

The economic slowdown in India andconsequently the lack of inflow of in-

vestments are affecting the renewable en-ergy sector, including the solar powersegment, says GlobalData, a leading dataand analytics company.

The Ministry of New & Renewable En-ergy (MNRE) had set a target of 8.5 gi-gawatt (GW) of solar installations duringthe financial year (FY) 2019-2020 ofwhich, the sector had installed around3.5 GW during the first half (till October2019), which is 41% of the target instal-lation for the year.

The annual target for FY2018-2019 was11 GW, out of which the sector installedaround 6.5 GW, contributing around59% of the targeted installations. One ofthe primary reasons for the drop in instal-lations is lack of investment in the sectorbecause of the economic slowdown.

Mohit Prasad, Project Manager at Glob-alData, comments: “The economic slow-down is impacting the rooftop solar PVsector, which was the bright spot in theprevious year. The sector has been hit bythe slowdown, with installations drop-ping by 43.6% in the quarter ended Sep-tember 2019, on a year-on-year basis.The sector has achieved installationsworth 482.45 megawatt (MW) till Octo-ber-end against the financial year targetof 1,000 MW.

“The corporate and commercial cus-tomers, who are the key players in thesolar rooftop space, are witnessing dropin their sales, and therefore subsequentlyin their investments and new rooftopsolar installations.”

Economic SlowdownAffecting SolarInstallations in India,says GlobalData

On-site renewable energy solutionscan cost-effectively supply refugee

communities with low-cost, reliableelectricity, according to the findings of anew report by the International Renew-able Energy Agency (IRENA) in cooper-ation with UNHCR, the UN RefugeeAgency.

There are currently almost 26 millionrefugees in the world today. Unreliableenergy exposes them to additional andassociated risks which renewables canserve to overcome.

Renewables for refugee settlements: Sus-tainable energy access in humanitariansituations, released at the GlobalRefugee Forum currently taking place inGeneva, examines the energy needs atrefugee camps and identifies renew-ables-based solutions for four sites in

Iraq and Ethiopia.

Solar mini-grids inparticular, are high-lighted as being ableto boost the efficiency

of humanitarian operations, avoid costlydiesel consumption, and support re-cently arrived refugees with immediate,reliable electricity access.

The report was launched as both organ-izations agreed in a new Memorandumof Understanding (MoU) to enhancetheir existing cooperation on promotingrenewable energy solutions for the im-provement of the humanitarian situationfor millions of people displaced fromtheir homes today.

“In line with our Global Strategy for Sus-tainable Energy, we aim to ensure thatrefugees can meet their basic energyneeds in exile while also minimizing en-vironmental degradation. Sustainableenergy access will bridge this gap, en-abling refugees to pursue education,

supporting businesses andsocial enterprises, spurringinnovation and exponen-tially enhancing the safetyand well-being of peopleand communities, untilsuch time that they can re-turn home,” said UN HighCommissioner for Refugees,Filippo Grandi.

Potential of Renewables forRefugee Settlements

Amajor new energy innovation proj-ect to demonstrate how smart hy-

dropower technologies can deliver alow-carbon, reliable and resilient powersystem was launched at the United Na-tions climate change conference(COP25) in Madrid, Spain.

The €18 million initiative was an-nounced by the European Commissionand a consortium of 19 partners, includ-ing the International Hydropower Asso-ciation.

The XFLEX HYDRO (Hydropower Ex-tending Power System Flexibility) proj-ect is a four-year initiative by utilities,

equipment manufac-turers, universities, re-search centers andconsultancies. It willdemonstrate how

modern hydropower plants can providethe vital power grid services required byvariable renewables such as wind andsolar power.

The launch comes after a UN EmissionsGap Report looking at ways to reduceglobal carbon emissions said thatgreater power system flexibility was“key” to integrating larger shares of vari-able renewable energy into the powersupply.

The project will conclude in 2023 bydelivering a roadmap to increase adop-tion of the technologies across the hy-

COP25 Sees Launch of New€18m Hydropower Initiative

EP

EP

EP

dropower fleet, with policy and marketrecommendations for governments, reg-ulators and industry.

The power sectoris witnessing sig-nificant changes.

As 2019 draws to aclose, HarminderSingh, Director ofPower at leading dataand analytics companyGlobalData, looks atthe key trends that willshape the industry in2020, ranging fromelectric vehicles to cor-porate power purchaseagreements (PPAs).

"The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs)is set to continue on the steep trajectorywitnessed in the last few years. Theglobal EV fleet, which stood at over 5.1million in 2018, is expected to reacharound 130 million by 2030 as per In-ternational Energy Agency (IEA) fore-casts.

Power utilities, which have traditionallybeen averse to the adoption of newtechnologies, are now realizing theirbenefits and offering heavy investment.An emerging technology trends surveyconducted by GlobalData reveals thatcyber security, big data, cloud comput-ing, robotics and Internet of Things (IoT)are being seen as the top five technolo-gies that will have the maximum impacton the sector over the next three years.

Energy storage installation among end-users (renewable energy generators, gridoperators and distributed generation) isprojected to witness larger growth dueto smart grid development. The batteryenergy storage system (BESS) market,which is estimated at 4.9 gigawatt (GW)in 2018, is forecast to reach 22.2GW by2023.

Microgrids will continue to make in-roads in the power sector, driven by theneed for resiliency, energy security andthe electrification of remote areas. This

year has seen a number of microgridprojects being announced by compa-nies across the world. Utilities such asDuke Energy, EDF, Engie and AusNet

have been involved in the developmentof microgrid projects, the scale of whichhas also been increasing with projectsas large as the 100MW Armonia Micro-grid Project in Palau being developed.

Large corporates are increasingly sign-ing PPAs with genera-tors to meet their powerneeds. Most of theseare signed with renew-able energy generators,enabling them to in-crease the share of re-newable energy in theirtotal consumption.Companies such asGoogle, Amazon, Face-book and Microsofthave continued to signPPAs during 2019 andthis trend is expected tocontinue in the future

due to the expansion of the data centersmarket increasing their power require-ments.

41

Climate

January 1, 2020

Key Trends Impacting Power Industryin 2020, Says GlobalData

EP Desk

Amobile court of Dhaka North CityCorporation (DNCC) recently

fined four contractors -- including aDNCC contractor -- Tk 80,000, forkeeping construction materials onfootpaths and polluting air at Niketan.

The mobile court, led by executivemagistrates Md Abdul Hamid Miahand Mir Nahid Ahsan, also pulleddown illegal billboards from road me-dians at Gulshan-1 and Gulshan-2.

“All development work will have to bedone in a compliant manner, other-wise no one will be spared from pun-

ishment,” said DNCCmayor Atiqul Islam whileinaugurating the driveagainst air pollution atNiketan.

He said many people consider them-selves “powerful enough” to do any-thing they wish, and do not followrules. “They will have to understandthat no one is more powerful than thegovernment,” he added.

It is not acceptable that anyone willcome and set up billboards, festoons,banners on footpaths, medians or elec-tric poles, the mayor said. There is aprovision of taking permission fromcity corporation before doing these,and anyone wishing to do so will have

to follow the law, he said.

“We are only removing the illegalbillboards this time, but we willtake legal action against the of-fenders if anyone does it again,”the mayor said.

Atiqul also distributed leaflets tolocals to raise awareness about airpollution.

No Air Polluter Will BeSpared: DNCC Mayor

EP

EP

42

Climate

January 1, 2020

The capital city of Dhakaranked 7th worst in the

Air Quality Index (AQI) re-cently.

Dhaka had a score of 175,which means the air qualitywas 'unhealthy'.

Mongolia's Ulaanbaatar,Afghanistan's Kabul and Pak-istan's Lahore occupied thefirst three slots with scores of

223, 194 and 193 respec-tively.

When the AQI value is be-tween 151 and 200, entirepopulation is more likely tobegin to experience healtheffects.

The air quality is categorizedas good when the AQI scoreremains below 50. The air isclassified as moderate when

the score is 51-100. But whenthe number isbetween 101and 150, the airis classified asunhealthy forsensitive groups.

Dhaka Ranks 7th Worst in AirQuality Index

Ras Al Khaimah EconomicZone (RAKEZ) has be-

come the first entity to sup-port Ras Al Khaimah’s EnergyEfficiency and RenewablesStrategy 2040. With its up-coming developments, theeconomic zone has commit-ted to complying with Bar-jeel, the green buildingregulations of the emirate,which will soon be manda-tory to all building construc-tions.

Currently, RAKEZ is con-structing new warehousesand labor accommodationsin its Al Hamra IndustrialZone. These two projects arebeing rolled out in compli-ance with Barjeel regulationsand standards, which are ex-pected to increase the effi-

ciency of buildings while re-ducing energy consumption.Significant water savings arealso anticipated.

The facilities were designedwith PV solar system provi-sion which RAKEZ clientscan use to provide electricityto their machineries andequipment to save on energy.In addition, the warehouseswill have insulated externalwalls to decrease the absorp-tion of heat during the day,thus reducing the energy re-quired to cool the facility,and providing better indoorconditions for the occupants.

“The project will play a sig-nificant role in reducing en-ergy and water bills by givingour clients the opportunity to

install and usealternative en-ergy resources,such as renew-able energyfrom PV solarpanels,” saidRamy Jallad,Group CEO ofRAKEZ.

RAKEZ Pioneers Eco-FriendlyDevelopments in Ras Al

Khaimah

Greenland is losing iceseven times faster than it

was in the 1990s.

The assessment comes froman international team ofpolar scientists who’ve re-viewed all the satellite obser-vations over a 26-yearperiod.

They say Greenland’s contri-bution to sea-level rise is cur-rently tracking what hadbeen regarded as a pes-

simistic projec-tion of the future.

It means an addi-tional 7cm of ocean risecould now be expected bythe end of the century fromGreenland alone. Thisthreatens to put many mil-lions more people in low-lying coastal regions at riskof flooding. It’s estimatedroughly a billion live todayless than 10m above currenthigh-tide lines, including250 million below 1m.

Greenland Ice Melt ‘IsAccelerating’

EP

EP

The UK’s upstream regula-tor, Oil and Gas Authority

(OGA), in its recent study ti-tled ‘UK Continental Shelf(UKCS) Energy Integration:Interim Findings’ claims thatintegrating the UK offshoreenergy sector, includingcloser links between oil andgas and renewables, can re-duce carbon emissions in oiland gas production and canactively support the deliveryof the UK's net zero target by2050.

This study assessed five off-shore integration technolo-gies such as carbon captureand storage (CCS), platformelectrification, Gas-to-Wire(GtW), hydrogen, and energyhubs to potentially reduceemissions from the oil andgas production sector further.

Platform electrification con-

cept substitutes open cyclegas turbines (OCGTs) withelectricity supplied by under-water cables directly fromoffshore wind farms. Gas-to-wire projects aim to tap un-developed gas reserves andgenerate electricity for exportthrough an offshore gridusing existing wind farm ca-bles.

CCS concept comprises ofcompression, transport andinjection of CO2 emissionsinto offshore subsurface stor-age sites. Hydrogen has fea-sible production avenuesthrough both ‘blue’ hydrogen(produced by natural gas re-forming) and ‘green’ hydro-gen (electrolysis produced byrenewables) routes, enablingdecarbonisation of power,heat and transport.

Offshore Energy IntegrationPlays Key Role in UK’s Move

Towards Net Zero Target

EP EP

The cost of building con-struction could be

brought down by 25 per centwith the use of eco-friendlymaterials like hollow blocks,instead of traditional bricks,according to a study of theHouse Building Research In-stitute (HBRI).

The study titled “The cost-benefit analysis of using hol-low block in modernbuilding” was conducted byHBRI in recent months.

According to the study, coun-tries like China, Vietnam, andIndonesia have alreadystarted to use a combinationof sand, cement, and stone-made blocks, instead of tradi-tional bricks, to reduce anyharmful environmental im-pact.

“These blocks are made ofriver sand, cement, and small

pieces of stones. These blocksneedn't be burned. That'swhy they are environment-friendly,” said Akhter HossainSarkar, a senior research offi-cer of HBRI.

The sound and heat protec-tion capacity of these blocksare higher than that of tradi-tional bricks. The lightweight,saline, and humidity-protec-tive nature of the blocks en-sures longevity, Sarkar said.

The HBRI official also saidthat the cost of building con-struction could be broughtdown 25 per cent with theuse of these hollow blocks.“Each piece of hollow blockscosts Tk. 30—35. A piece ofhollow block is 4.5 times big-ger than a traditional brick.So, it will reduce the con-struction cost,” he added.

Eco-Friendly Hollow Blocks CutBuilding Costs by 25pc: Study

43

Climate

January 1, 2020

Climate change and sea-level rise pose a serious

threat to the country's im-pressive growth in agricul-tural productivity.Bangladesh and the WorldBank (WB) recently launchedthe Climate-Smart Agricul-ture Investment Plan (CSAIP)to address the impact of cli-mate change on agricultureand to prioritize investmentsto improve productivity, re-silience, and mitigation in theagriculture sector at the city’sKrishibid Institution.

Agriculture minister AbdurRazzaque was present on theoccasion. Fisheries and live-stock minister Md Ashraf Ali

Khan Khasru, k ministry sec-retary Raisul Alam Mondal,WB's acting country directorfor Bangladesh and BhutanDandan Chen, and joint sec-retary (blue economy) TaufiqArif also spoke on the occa-sion.

“During the last 25 years,Bangladesh’s agriculturalproductivity growth has beenamong the highest in theworld and supported around87 per cent of the ruralhouseholds. But rising tem-peratures will affect the yieldof Aman and Boro rice, thecountry’s two major staplecrops,” Abdur Razzaquesaid.

Climate Change, Sea-Level RiseSerious Threat to Agri Growth

The government hasdrafted rules (industry

registration) 2019 for thetextile and clothing sector,aiming to ease the registra-tion process and bring theindustries under the spon-soring authority's regula-tion, officials said.

To get industries registeredwith the Department of Tex-tile (DoT), the draft rules in-corporated some 15

conditions including restric-tion on discharging industrywastes to nearby rivers,connecting canals andother common water bod-ies without treatment.

It also asked for mandatorysetting up of effluent treat-ment plant and making itfunctional along with abid-ing by the law related to theenvironment.

The Ministry of Textiles and

Govt Drafts Rules for ClothingIndustry Registration with Strict

Environmental Conditions

EP

EP

Jute (MoTJ) drafted the rulesand published it at the offi-cial website of DoT on No-vember 25.

The ministry also soughtfeedback on the draft fromthe stakeholders/ trade bod-ies concerned.

The DoT has convened ameeting next week with thestakeholders to get theiropinion on the rules and

make the service-receivingprocess easy, a departmentofficial said.

The move came in line withthe government's measuresto empower the DoT as thesponsoring authority to pro-vide services to the coun-try's textile and clothingsector by enacting TextileLaw 2018, he said.

EP

44

Climate

January 1, 2020

Rather than reducing airpollution, government in-

stitutions actually contributeto it, environmental activistsalleged at a press conferencein the capital’s Kalabagan re-cently.

At the programme, activistsfrom Poribesh Bachao An-dolon (Poba) and BangladeshResource Center for Indige-nous Knowledge (BARCIK)observed that institutionssuch as the city corporations,

Rajuk, andsome rele-vant min-i s t r i e s

worsen the quality of airthrough unplanned develop-ment activities, includingrandom road and sewer linerepairs and metro rail con-struction.

These sources are among thegreatest pollutants of Dhaka,along with brick kilns, unfitvehicles and heavy industry,the speakers said citing re-search.

They urged the governmentto immediately come upwith a specific actionplan to check air pollu-tion, which has recentlybecome a major healthconcern for the city’s in-habitants.

Govt Bodies Contributingto Air Pollution

The COP25 Presidency an-nounced additional com-

mitments within the ClimateAmbition Alliance.

Chile's Minister of Environ-ment Carolina Schmidt said73 parties to the UNFCCC,14 regions, 398 cities, 768businesses and 16 investorsare working to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by2050.

The UN Secretary-Generalsaid he is “deeply encour-aged by the growth” in theAlliance, and major emitterswill be a top priority betweennow and COP 26.

The Chilean Presidency ofthe 25th session of the Con-ference of the Parties (COP25) to the UNFCCC an-nounced a renewed ClimateAmbition Alliance, in whichparticipating countries com-mit to accelerate action by

2020 and achieve net zerocarbon dioxide (CO2) emis-sions by 2050.

UN Secretary-General An-tónio Guterres asked Chile tolead the Climate AmbitionAlliance in the context ofgovernment’s role as the orig-inal host of COP25. Duringthe September 2019 UN Cli-mate Action Summit, Presi-dent of Chile SebastiánPiñera launched the Allianceto accelerate the transforma-tion needed to meet the goalsof the Paris Agreement on cli-mate change and stabilizethe global average tempera-ture rise at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

In addition to 73 UNFCCCparties, 14 regions, 398cities, 768 businesses and 16investors are working toachieve net-zero CO2 emis-sions by 2050.

73 Countries Commit to Net ZeroCO2 Emissions by 2050

The global warming trendwill continue next year

with temperatures again likelyto rise more than one degreeabove pre-industrial levels.

According to the Met Office,2020 will likely be 1.11Cwarmer than the average be-tween 1850-1900.

The year ahead is set to extendthe series of the warmest yearson record to six in a row. Sci-entists say the strongest factorcausing the rise is greenhousegas emissions. The world firstbroke through one degreeabove pre-industrial tempera-tures back in 2015.

Each year since then has seentemperatures close to or abovethis mark. The warmest year on

record is 2016when a strong ElNiño made asignificant dif-

ference.

This weather phenomenonsees sea surface temperaturesincrease in the central andeastern Pacific and it’s associ-ated with a range of impactsaround the world, includingthe overall global level ofwarming.

According to the Met Office,the chances of a strong El Niñoin 2020 are low.

They forecast that the globalaverage temperature next yearwill be in the range of 0.99C to1.23C with a central estimateof 1.11C. The researchers saythat the key factor will be emis-sions of CO2 and other warm-ing gases.

‘Global Warming Trendto Continue Next Year’

EP

The government has mademandatory the use of

blocks in public constructionfrom this fiscal year as itmoves to cut the reliance onbricks for building structures,walls and roads, an officialdocument showed.

Under the plan, state-runagencies will use blocks,which will be made up ofsand, cement fly ash or mate-rials other than clay, to buildand repair walls of buildings,surrounding walls, herring-bone bond road, and ruralpassages in place of bricks,

which use valuable topsoil asraw material.

Agencies will have to use 10percent blocks in the currentfiscal year of 2019-20 and 20percent the following year,according to a notification ofthe environment, forest andclimate change ministry, is-sued on November 24.

“Fire-burnt bricks pollute airand the environment. It alsoaffects agricultural lands. Thisis why we want to move toblocks from bricks,” saidMallick Anwar Hossain, addi-

tional directorgeneral of theDepartment ofEnvironment.

“We have de-cided to com-pletely shift toblocks from firebricks by 2025.”

Eco-Friendly Blocks MadeMandatory in Govt Projects

EPEP

EP

Aproper mix of own and importedprimary fuel needs to be ensuredfor Bangladesh to achieve afford-

able power supply. But the country is notpursuing that path. The trend over thepast twelve years is driving Bangladeshincreasingly towards imported fuel de-pendency. This will put new stress on theeconomy and affect the envisioned highgrowth rate. Policy towards increasingenergy independency must be adopted assoon as possible for coming out from it.

Energy expert Prof Dr. M Tamim, Pro-ViceChancellor of BRAC University, said thisin an exclusive interview with Energy &Power Editor Mollah Amzad Hossain.

2021 will be the Golden Jubilee Year ofBangladesh’s liberation. Different mile-stones have been set already for achiev-ing in the power and energy sector forgiving it a new dimension. It is definitelya huge challenge to achieve these. Howdo you evaluate these challenges?

Power generation has surplus now. Stillthe incidents of power loadshedding existdue to constraints in transmission and dis-tribution system. Consequently, the sup-ply of quality power on uninterruptiblebasis is still a far cry despite having sur-plus in generation. I do not think it willbe possible making a significant achieve-ment in power transmission and distribu-tion in 2020.

No reliable initiative is visible now for ex-ploring own primary fuel — coal and gas.The present policy would leadBangladesh towards 90 percent depend-ency on imported fuel by 2030. This willstress the economy. The power tariff andgas price would require increasing re-peatedly in phases to manage the im-pacts. In my opinion, this will be themajor challenge of the government in2020.The power sector has grown massivecompared to earlier situation. But selec-tion of fuel and ensuring its supply aremajor challenges for supplying power at

affordable cost. How ready you think isthe government for these?

The past 11 years of the Awami League-led government evidence that the powergeneration has increasingly become re-liant on imported fuel due to lack of ini-tiatives for exploring and exploiting ownfuel resources. The lowering trend of fuelin the global market is creating our ex-pectation for supplying power and fuel ataffordable cost. This is beyond our con-trol. For affordable energy supply, morespecifically power supply, we need toadopt a proper mix of own and importedfuel. Unfortunately, no such initiative isvisible now. Exploitation of own coal re-serve and setting up of power plants usingthis could be the best option for supply-ing power at affordable cost. But over thepast, no such initiative has been taken.

The required initiative has not also beentaken to explore petroleum resourcesover the past 11 years. I would not hesi-tate to say that the government has com-pletely failed here. Resolution ofmaritime boundary disputes of the Bay ofBengal with Myanmar and India weregreat achievements. Another commend-able success is commencement of powertrade with India. Increasing the present1160 MW power import from India inphases would auger well for Bangladesh.

You are voicing concern over the past 5years that the power and energy sector ofBangladesh would become 92 percentdependent on imported fuel if it fails toexploit its own reserve. The present trendis actually like that. Will this turn into animpediment towards achieving nationalvision of mid-income and developedeconomy for Bangladesh?

Pursuing the path of fuel import,Bangladesh has stepped into higherpriced fuel highway. Consequently, thiswill create adverse impacts on the econ-omy if efficient use of power and energycannot be ensured through good gover-nance. Efficiency requires to be ensured

at all segments of the power and energyvalue chain — power generation, trans-mission, distribution and supply to theend users. Not only in the power and en-ergy sector, but improved governancewould also be essential at the govern-ment level as well. These are huge chal-lenges for Bangladesh.

Exclusively imported fuel dependentcountries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwanand Singapore could achieve and main-tain competitiveness in global marketthrough good governance and efficientuse of power and energy. I do think thatthis is not at all easy for Bangladesh. Get-ting the expected return from the marketfrom supplying power based on importedfuel and gas from imported LNG would

Prof Dr. M Tamim

The past 11 years of the AwamiLeague­led government evidence thatthe power generation has increasinglybecome reliant on imported fuel due to

lack of initiatives for exploring andexploiting own fuel resources. Thelowering trend of fuel in the global

market is creating our expectation forsupplying power and fuel at

affordable cost.

‘Imported Fuel Dependence toBe A Burden ’

45

Interview

January 1, 2020

be the major challenge in the future.These would entirely depend on goodgovernance in the country. In generalterms, governance of power and energysector would require major improve-ment. Taking the economy to ride onright track would be extremely challeng-ing without this. The only possibility ofcomfort would be there if the present lowtrend of price of fuel in global marketcontinues.

Public sector companies are still leadingthe power generation. But there existsmany complaints regarding the effi-ciency, transparency and manpowercompetence of the companies. It is beingalleged that the consequence of ineffi-ciency and poor governance of powersector is transferred to the power usersthrough increased power tariff. What areyour views?

There is no doubt that the power usersare bearing the burnt of inefficiency ofpublic sector utilities. One examplewould substantiate. The system loss ofTitas Gas Transmission and DistributionCompany Limited (TGTDCL) has in-creased from 3 percent to 12 percent afterthe LNG import increased the supplypressure. This has exposed the level ofpilferage in the system. The governmentand utilities must work hand in hand toget out of the menace. I think the govern-ment is in a policy dilemma. The govern-ment has to take responsibility and giveproper directives to improve the situation.

Around 30 private companies includingSummit and United are involved in thepower generation. What positive contri-butions these companies have made inthe enhancement of power generation inBangladesh? Consumers Association ofBangladesh (CAB) has raised questionsabout the transparency of signing agree-ments with private sector companies.How do you evaluate this?

The new agreements and extension ofagreements for rental, quick rental andIPPs are not transparent to people. Theybelieve that these have served the pur-pose and interests of individuals andidentified groups. Especially concludingthese agreements under speedy poweract instead of resorting to national pro-curement policy has intensified thedoubts and concerns. Adoption of speedy

power act as contingency initiative for 2-3 years after 2009 was appropriate toconfront crisis. We also vouched for this.But war like emergency cannot continuefor indefinite period. People would defi-nitely question about the lack of trans-parency.

Capacity charge needs to be accountedfor keeping some private sector powerplants idle due to surplus generation ca-pacity and less demand. This is increas-ing average cost of generation. What areyour suggestions for coming out of it?

Keeping the political consideration atbay, power plants must be used on thebasis of efficiency in generation. Manypower plants of the public sector haveoutlived their economic design period.Most of these are operating at very lowefficiency or are shut down now. Thesemust be retired. On the other hand, dueto cooling load the demand varies by3000-4000 MW in summer and winter.Hence we have no option now but keep-ing some power plants idle for 4-5months. The demand in the industrialsector did not grow as expected by thegovernment. But the demand in domesticsector keeps increasing.

I am more than sure that many agree-ments made under contingency programhave been subsequently extended. In fu-ture no agreement with liquid fuel-basedpower plants should be further extended,especially the inefficient and expensiveones. These would reduce installed ca-pacity by about 2000 MW that could eas-ily be replaced by the Rampal and Payraplants. There may be questions whatwould happen in case of demand in-crease. I think some large plants in thepipeline under mid-term planning wouldcater for the increased demand.

The projection of power demand by Gov-ernment policy was based on the hope ofincreased industrial demand that wastagged to GDP growth. Unfortunately, thecontribution of industrial growth in ourGDP growth was not as projected. As aresult, we do have some excess capacitynow. The mismatch in demand forecastand supply is not unusual when it islumped with GDP growth. A much betterapproach would be to tag the power de-mand forecast on a bottom up sector wisegrowth approach. We need to rethink theentire energy planning situation in a com-

prehensive manner.

Liquid fuel contributes over 30% to totalgeneration now. The government is talk-ing about bringing it down to 5% by2041. What is your opinion about theplanned fuel mix of the government?

It will not be difficult to achieve it if theunder construction and planned coal andLNG-based power plants come into op-eration. We must bear in mind that thepossibilities of imported coal-basedpower plants other than that at Payra,Rampal and Matarbari are remote. Butdependence on coal-based plants can bereduced if 7000-8000 MW LNG-basedpower plant construction is possible. Atthe same time if we can achieve the tar-geted import of 9000 MW, the simpletheoretical calculation would tell youthat bringing down the contribution ofliquid fuel-based to 5 percent by 2041 ispossible. But proven track records ofproject implementation would keepsome doubts as well.

There are more allegations of inefficiencyand poor management of energy compa-nies compared with the public sectorpower companies. For these the explo-ration of own coal and gas as well asmodernization of energy sector are lag-ging behind. What is your opinion aboutthese allegations?

It is not only in the power and energy sec-tor. Every sector of the country have crisisof competent manpower. We do not haverequired number of competent and effi-cient manpower for processing raw ma-terials to final products adding values tothese. Without wasting time anymore, thegovernment must set up a separate min-istry for human capital development. Theresponsibility of that ministry would beobjectively assessing the human resourcerequirements and implementing that withthe assistance of universities and insti-tutes. In five years, Bangladesh will startgetting into comfortable position if thiscan be initiated now. Otherwise, theGDP growth at expected level will not beachieved.

Petrobangla and its companies cannotexplore the petroleum resources due tolack of personnel, investment, equipmentand knowhow. The man power shortagein Petrobangla has grown over the yearsdue to absence of recruitment and

46January 1, 2020

training fueled by lack of activities. Theenergy sector is suffering from policyconfusion. It is not clear who is going tolead the exploration and production. Inmy opinion, if government is truly sin-cere about exploring own petroleum re-sources, it must go for immediate PSCbidding round at onshore for exploration.It is already established that oil and gasexploration through PSC is economicallybeneficial for Bangladesh. Petrobanglacan always grow parallel like Petronas orONGC by active engagement in bothtechnical and management issues withthe IOCs.

We have heard a lot about oil and gas ex-ploration. But over last 20 years, the suc-cess is not at all encouraging. What areyour suggestions for onshore explorationnow?

I have already mentioned that apart fromthe blocks allocated to BAPEX and IOCs,fresh bidding round must be invited assoon as possible for exploration. I do notthink joint venture will bring any divi-dend. BAPEX can have joint venture fordeveloping any discovered gas field. Wemust bear in mind that PSC is a success-ful exploration model for Bangladesh.

Petrobangla has finalized a fresh ModelPSC 2019 for offshore exploration. It hasupdated few provisions including gasprice and terms. Do you think that ModelPSC 2019 would be attractive for leadingIOCs for risking investments?

We have fallen way behind in offshoreexploration. Even the non-exclusivemulti-client survey for development in-formation package could not be startedin 5 years. I have heard that a companyhas finally been selected for this. It willtake at least one year to acquire somedata if the works start in 2020. The ModelPSC 2019 is time tested. The responsecould be encouraging if we had informa-tion data bank. We must approach off-shore exploration with appropriatepreparations.

Use of coal for power generation is onthe decline globally for restricting carbonemissions. But in Asian countries it is in-creasing. New coalmines are also beingdeveloped in different parts of the world.What should Bangladesh do in such a sit-uation?

It could be possible to supply power ataffordable cost if we could set up minemouth coal power plants, exploiting ourown coal reserve. There exists opportu-nity for generating up to 5000-7000 MWof power using our own coal. The cost ofpower to be generated by using importedcoal at Payra, Matarbari and Rampalwould not be cheap at all.

Our negligible carbon footprint is not anissue at all for mining own coal or gener-ating power with coal. USA, Germany,South Africa, China and India are stilllargely dependent on coal for power gen-eration. Local pollution is a problem forBangladesh rather than the contributionto the global increase.

Coal mining in Bangladesh has technicalchallenges and also some financial issuesbut these are manageable. No seriousstudy was initiated by the government oncoal mining. Rejecting the idea of miningwithout such study shows that the prob-lem lies somewhere else. I think that thegovernment feels mining in northern re-gion will harm their political interest.Hence coal mining in Bangladesh nowdepends entirely on political decision.

The government has several plans, in-cluding master plans, for power and en-ergy sector development. These are alsobeing implemented. How do you evalu-ate these plans?

I have already mentioned that the PowerSystem Master Plan have been madeconsidering the GDP growth though thegovernment anticipates that the powerdemand would exceed what was esti-mated in the PSMP. But till now the de-mand did not reach the projected limit.The demand in the industry sector hasnot increased as expected. Failure in sup-plying reliable power and difference oftariff between grid power and captivepower keeps industries dependent oncaptive power. These matters shouldhave been taken into account while for-mulating the PSMP.

SREDA is working for energy efficiencyand conservation. A roadmap has alsobeen formulated. What are your viewsabout the achievements of the govern-ment in this area?

The consumers have never made any in-vestment in energy-efficient appliances

for cheaper prices of energy and power.Power tariff has now increased to re-gional level and gas price is also beingadjusted. Consequently, the investmentin energy-efficient machineries has in-creased significantly in industry sector.Captive power plants are going for co-generation and tri-generation for enhanc-ing efficient use of fuel. The governmentinitiatives for enhancing energy effi-ciency and energy conservation are com-mendable.

In my opinion, for achieving greater en-ergy efficiency, the government must en-sure use of star-rated appliances for everyuser in the household sector.

The government is working on low car-bon development policy. Do you thinkthat the government in power and energysector is on the right track for achievingthis?

The government has to initiate actionsboth at the demand and supply segmentsfor reducing carbon emissions to achievelow carbon development. Especiallypower generation must be more efficientfor limiting emissions. On the other hand,as Bangladesh is increasingly moving to-wards expensive imported primary fuel,we must encourage investment more andmore on low energy-intensive industries.

The renewable energy target of 2020 willnot be achieved. What are your sugges-tions for increasing contributions of re-newable energy in Bangladesh? What doyou think would be the reasonable tar-get?

More success could be achieved in re-newable energy if feed-in-tariff could beintroduced. The rooftop solar and netmetering system introduced recently ispraiseworthy. In my opinion, there is nobetter option than the feed-in-tariff to in-crease the contribution of RE. If that isdone, several small investors would im-plement small projects with governmentapproval. Getting land is a major imped-iment to grid-connected solar projects.Land is a problem not only for the privatesector but also for the public sector inBangladesh.

Solar is the main renewable energy inBangladesh. The government must con-tinue its policy support for its expansion.

47January 1, 2020

EP