Energy & Power

Snapshots

PM Urges Pvt. Entrepreneurs to Set Up Small Plants

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has requested private entrepreneurs to come forward to set up small power plants to cater an ever-growing demand for electricity.

She made the call while inaugurating a 3-day national convention and 30th council session of the diploma engineers at the Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh in Dhaka recently. About 5,000 diploma engineers from across the country attended the national convention.

She pointed out enough scope for private sector to play their role in the power sector.

Appreciating this year’s theme of the diploma engineers’ convention ‘Electricity for Life and Development’ as timely, the PM said it was unfortunate but true that the power sector remained neglected for want of correct policy guidelines in the past.

She said big industries and business establishments would have to have their own arrangement of electricity and, at the same time, all would have to exercise restraint in electricity usage.

Asia Energy Officials Meet Advisor

Senior officials of Asia Energy, which is scheduled to develop Phulbari coalmine, recently had a meeting with Energy Advisor Mahmudur Rahman. Among them were Steve Bywater, CEO of Asia Energy PLC and Gary Lye, CEO of Asia Energy (Bangladesh).

"We had a positive meeting with the Advisor," Gary Lye said. "We told him that we want to work with the government to make the coal policy and the coal sector a success for Bangladesh… we look forward to implement our Phulbari coal project in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner."

Earlier, the Asia Energy conducted a feasibility study for Phulbari coal mine project and submitted its development plan.

Energy Advisor Mahmudur Rahman said a technical committee is going through the Asia Energy's development plan to see its pros and cons.

BPC Losses Nearing Tk 10,000 Cr

With the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation’s (BPC) losses nearing Tk 10,000 crore, the Energy and Mineral Resources Division has requested the Finance Ministry to take immediate steps to minimize the gap between the corporation’s import and marketing rates of petroleum products.

The division, in a letter to the Finance and Planning Minister, M Saifur Rahman, also sought his intervention to ensure payment of outstanding amounts from public sector entities, such as the Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

The Energy Division hinted at an upward adjustment of fuel price following the widening gap between import cost of fuel and domestic prices dictated by the higher echelon of the government on political considerations.

The government does not provide any direct subsidy through budgetary allocations either for reducing the corporation losses or for the benefit of farmers and vulnerable social groups.

“The government has to take a policy decision whether the BPC will continue to supply oil to Biman and how the BPC will get back the dues,” read the letter signed by the Energy Advisor, Mahmudur Rahman.

The Biman alone owes the petroleum corporation Tk 1,051 crore out of the total outstanding bills owed by state entities that stands at Tk 1,156 crore.

The BPC’s accumulated losses stood at Tk 6,332 crore at the end of the last fiscal and it would reach at Tk 9,832 crore at the end the current fiscal.

“Given the swelling losses and loan burden day by day, if the situation continues it will be difficult for the BPC to import fuel oil in future,” Mahmud was quoted to have written to Saifur whose personal intervention has also been sought to overcome the situation.

The corporation sells petroleum products at subsidized rates in the domestic market and also supplies to different entities of the government after receiving loans from commercial banks and Islamic Development Bank at high rates of interests.

650 MW to be Added to Grid by June

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry asked the concerned officials to take stern measures to resume generation of the country’s 15 power units, remained out of order for a long time.

The committee members in a meeting expressed deep concern over serious disruption of studying by the students, especially the SSC and HSC examinees, due to the frequent load-shedding across the country and also asked the government to immediately complete the undertaken projects to improve the situation.

Sources said that the ministry in a report said that the power crisis has been prevailing due to irrigation in rural areas. About 2,000 to 2,200 MW of power is being consumed for irrigation.

The report, submitted to the committee, said that the crisis would be reduced after one week of completion of irrigation and the load-shedding would be reduced to only 500 MW when an additional amount of 650 MW power will begin to be generated by the end of June, said meeting sources.

Sources said that the committee members emphasized the need for complete renovation of 15 power units, having a total of generation capacity of 1,137 MW, remained out of order for a long time.

Power Hungry Farmers Lay Siege to MP's House

Hundreds of farmers agitating for uninterrupted power supply for irrigating their Irri-boro lands recently laid a siege to the house of a lawmaker in Chapainawabganj where earlier 10 people were killed in police firing when they were demonstrating demanding electricity.

Farmers from Palsa, Gobratala and Baliadanga unions under Sadar upazila assembled at the district headquarters, took out a stick procession and laid a siege to the house of Harunur Rashid MP.

The power-hungry farmers withdrew their siege program after the lawmaker assured them of taking necessary steps to ensure smooth power supply in their areas. The farmers later submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner.

Demanding electricity, many areas of the country witnessed similar demonstration, road blockade and siege to PDB offices in last two weeks.

ADB Plans to Lend $500m for Power Sector

A $500 million project planned by Asian Development Bank (ADB) for developing Bangladesh's power sector is likely to come up within this year, as the country faces serious electricity crisis.

"The project is waiting for being placed with the ADB's Board of Directors for consideration," ADB Resident Representative Hua Du told reporters after a meeting with Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman at his Planning Ministry office.

She was accompanying visiting ADB Executive Director Emile Gauvreau who called on the minister to exchange views on Bangladesh's socioeconomic situation with a special reference to major development problems and prospects.

Under the project being prepared, ADB will provide necessary funds for installation of the proposed 240 MW Siddirganj peaking plant.

Season's 4th Grid Failure Collapses Economic Activities in Capital

A grid failure led to a serious power crisis in the capital on March 27 halting commercial and other activities for hours and causing untold sufferings to the city dwellers. It was fourth grid failure in this season.

The trading at the country's premier bourse, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), was forced to close for one and a half hours. The commercial activities in commercial hub at Motihjheel were also affected following the power crisis that persisted for 4-5 hours.

Activities at Bangladesh Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Board of Investment, Privatization Commission, other government agencies, banks and various private enterprises were severely affected due to the crisis.

Officials said that the crisis erupted as two circuits of Maniknagar-Bangabhaban 132 KV line tripped at 11am and 11:13am due to technical trouble putting a cascading effect into other lines.

Officials said that apart from central Dhaka, other parts of the capital were also affected. Classes of some schools in Dhanmondi area were called off for the day due to the severe power crisis causing sufferings to the children.

“Launch Movement against Handover of Natural Resources”

Leaders of the National Committee for Protecting Oil-Gas, Mineral Resources and Power-Port (NCPOGMRPP) have called upon people to launch a movement against the government's plot to handover the country's natural resources to foreign companies.

They made the appeal from the road march from Dhaka to Phulbari, where Asia Energy is scheduled to develop a colmine.

Committee Coordinator Engr Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah and Member Secretary Anu Mohammad and other leaders joined the road march.

Country can Solve Power Crisis through RE

Energy experts at a seminar in Dhaka said the country can solve its existing power crisis through renewable energy adding 60 percent of the total demand in the national grid.

Narrating the development of bio and solar energy, they added that about one lakh subscribers across the country, particularly in rural areas, have already been brought under the system.

Renewable Energy Research Center (RERC) of University of Dhaka and Bangladesh Solar Energy Society (BSES) jointly organized the seminar on "Renewable Energy: Special Emphasis on Bio-energy and its Applications" and a 3-day exhibition at RERC auditorium.

Sadeq Hossain Khoka, Mayor of Dhaka City Corporation, while addressing the inaugural session of the three-day seminar as chief guest assured of government support to the renewable energy program for its wide potentiality.

DU Vice-chancellor Prof Dr SMA Faiz, President of the BSES Prof Mohtasham Hossain, Director of RERC Prof Neem Chandra Bhowmik and Dr Shahida Rafique, Professor of Applied Physics of DU, spoke on the occasion.

In the exhibition, BRAC Foundation, Center for Mass Education in Science (CMES), Grameen Shakti, Local Government Engineering Department, Rahimafrooz and Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Chittagong demonstrated solar power and biogas devices.