The Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline is ready to open

The State Ministry of Electricity, Energy, and Natural Resources said that electricity demand is increasing by roughly 100MW each day. They are doing everything they can to control the problem.

According to power sector sources, the country may face more than 3,000MW load-shedding this Ramadan due to increased demand for electricity. Despite having a capacity of more than 25,000MW, the country can only generate roughly 12,000MW due to primary fuel shortage.

Due to the recent currency issue, the government was forced to suspend diesel-based power generation. In terms of renewable energy, the government plans to add 1,000MW of solar electricity to the national grid within a year.

Source for  more details:

The Business Post

The US-based National Bureau of Asian Research (NRB) discovered that  Bangladesh could reduce its annual LNG and diesel imports cost by more than one billion dollars by rapidly expanding its 2,000 MW solar power capacity and replacing all diesel-run irrigation systems with solar electricity.

According to the report, replacing diesel-fired irrigation systems with solar-powered systems and adding 2,000 MW of solar power capacity for daytime applications might help reduce 5.58 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

Electricity generation from rooftop systems presently costs Tk. 5.25 per kWh. Hence, as compared to the cost of grid electricity, industries can save 40% on per-unit electricity costs during the day. Similarly, utility-scale solar could generate electricity at Tk. 7.6/kWh, or 14% cheaper than the Bangladesh Power Distribution Board’s (BPDB) average electricity generation cost in FY 2021-22.

Source for more details:

The Business Post

Russia offered to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh during the two countries’ intergovernmental commission online conference. The offer comes at a time when Bangladesh has been trying to purchase LNG from the foreign market to meet the expanding domestic natural gas demand.

Authorities claimed that after hiking natural gas taxes by up to 178.88% in February, Bangladesh has increased LNG imports, particularly from the spot market. It intends to purchase a total of eight LNG cargoes in April, a 14.28% increase over March.

Six of these LNG cargos will be delivered by long-term suppliers Qatargas and Oman Trading International (OTI), with the remaining two coming from the international spot market. The country will need an estimated US$450 million to import more LNG to meet rising fuel demand in industry and power plants.

Source for more details:

The Financial Express

Power transmission from Adani’s 1,600MW coal-fired power plant in the Indian state of Jharkhand to Bangladesh began on March 9, although power tariff issues remain unresolved.

The power transmission was synchronized with Bangladesh’s national grid on a test basis, according to a Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) Facebook status. More than 50MW of power from the Adani plant reached Bangladesh’s national grid via newly constructed transmission lines and substations.

The company stated that it developed a 134km 400kV transmission line from the adjoining Mankasha area to Bogura via Rohanpur. A 400/230kV substation was also erected in Bogura to enable power evacuation.

Source for more details:

The Business Post

Experts recommended that efforts to explore domestic natural gas and coal resources be increased in order to ensure the country’s future energy security, condemning the government’s ‘lethargic’ posture in this respect thus far.

They made the observation at a session on “Energy Security” at the Bangladesh Business Summit, which was hosted by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at the city’s Bangabandhu International Convention Centre (BICC).

Bangladesh has around 3.30 billion tonnes of coal reserves, which are sufficient to supply the country’s total energy requirement for the next 300 years. According to the former senior SDG (sustainable development goal) organizer, if 25% of underground coal can be extracted, it will fulfill domestic demand for at least 75 years.

Source for more details:

The Financial Express

The Indian Oil Company has resumed the long-term supply of refined petroleum products to Bangladesh using ocean-going vessels. This is the first shipment of oil from India’s state-owned entity to Bangladesh after 2020

According to a senior official at the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Company (BPC), it already delivered a 33,000-tonne cargo of gasoil, or diesel, containing 0.005% sulfur last week.IndianOil has agreed to provide the BPC with about 390,000 tonnes of 0.005% sulphur gasoil, A-1 jet fuel, and 95 RON gasoline, or octane, until December 2023.

Bangladesh is also planning to import gasoil through the pipeline connecting the two nations starting mid-March. The pipeline runs 125 kilometers across Bangladesh and 5 kilometers in India.

Source for more details:

The Financial Express