Heavy Reliance on LNG Expansion Expected to Worsen Heat Stress

A severe shortage of coal has led to the shutdown of a 660-megawatt unit at the Payra power plant in Bangladesh, marking the first closure in its three-year operation. If the situation persists, the other unit of the plant is expected to cease production within a week.

The Integrated Energy and Power Masterplan (IEPMP) 2023, formulated by the government, is facing criticism for its excessive power generation capacity and lack of consideration for local experts' opinions. The master plan, created in 2016, already had a production capacity much higher than the demand, leading to the addition of costly extra capacity.

Bangladesh is making efforts to unite Bangladesh, Bhutan, and India under a single platform for electricity trade. As part of this initiative, Bangladesh has proposed a joint venture with India to build a hydroelectric power station in Bhutan.

The government finds itself trapped in an ongoing cycle of accumulating subsidies in the agriculture and electricity sectors, as it struggles to settle the outstanding subsidy arrears from the previous fiscal year using the current year's allocation. The power sector alone has a significant outstanding subsidy for this fiscal year, equivalent to the combined cost of constructing major infrastructure projects. Despite multiple price increases, a large portion of the generated subsidies in fertilisers and electricity remains unpaid.

Most oil majors are increasing their investments in renewable energy while still maintaining their focus on fossil fuels, risking the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050. Activists have targeted companies like Shell, BP, and Barclays during shareholder meetings, urging them to prioritize climate action.

The joint venture SS Power Plant, with a capacity of 1,320MW, initiated its experimental power supply to the national grid in Chattogram's Banshkhali. Starting with 1MW, the supply quickly escalated to 100MW within a short time.