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Fuel crisis affects electricity supply in Bangladesh

hydrabadi_arab

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DHAKA: Robiul Islam, 29, sits in the dark at his home in the Kalurghat neighbourhood of Chattogram city, suffering through yet another power cut, as Bangladesh struggles with costly and inadequate natural gas imports amid a global hike in energy prices.

“Over the last two months, we are seeing power outages that we have not seen in quite a few years,” Islam told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

The South Asian nation boasts an electrification rate of 97pc — meaning nearly all of its population has access to electric power — and has increased its total power generation capacity to 25,700 megawatts (MW), against peak demand of about 15,000 MW.

But since June, the country has seen a return of frequent power outages, or “load-shedding”, as the government tries to keep down rising fuel costs.

Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, wrote in a Facebook post that with energy prices soaring on the world market due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Bangladesh is experiencing a shortage in its gas supply that is hampering electricity generation. But observers say the roots of the crisis go back way before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to an oil and gas squeeze.

Bangladesh’s power sector has increasingly relied on imports of fossil fuels, including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) which is a “very volatile commodity” that risks becoming too expensive for poorer importing countries, said Simon Nicholas, a researcher at the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

The share of Bangladesh’s power generated from natural gas stands at about 60pc, with a quarter of that gas imported.

Experts have called for more exploration and expansion of gas production at home to reduce reliance on imported fuels.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) has also faced financial pressure because of the over-capacity it created through costly support for independent power producers (IPP) in the private sector.

They receive capacity payments from the government — a set fee based on the amount of power that plants can generate — even when they remain idle.

Nicholas said that in the fiscal year 2020-21, the cost of electricity purchased from IPPs represented over half the PDB’s total operating expenses for the first time.

In that year, the government also made capacity payments of 132 billion taka ($1.40 billion) to the IPPs and paid out an equivalent amount of subsidies to state-owned power utilities.

The government launched austerity measures two weeks ago, including scheduled load-shedding, controls on air-conditioning use and reduced working hours to ease pressure on fuel imports.

But power outages and energy price hikes will nonetheless drive up business costs, said Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Electricity and other energy, including diesel and gas, accounts for 15-20pc of production costs across the main energy-intensive industries, especially textiles, cement, steel, leather and plastic products, he added.

Electricity prices went up both in 2019 and 2020, he noted, while gas tariffs recently rose by nearly 23pc — which will in turn drive up power costs further.

“The frequent and unpredictable tariff hikes undermine industrial efficiency and production,” he said, adding that this deters foreign and local investment.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2022
 
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It's more cheap make electric energy from coal than from natural gas.

Climate change is a ad-hoc ideology created by rich countries to keep developing countries in a eternal developing state.
 
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Climate change is a ad-hoc ideology created by rich countries to keep developing countries in a eternal developing state.
Please do not be so sure of your position on the use of coal as fuel to produce electricity.

Have you noticed the rise of temperature this summer in the northern hemisphere as well? The thickness of the Arctic (could it be the Antarctic?) ice layers has been reduced to only 12m when normally it is 48 m.

We have only one Earth where the population will soon rise to 9 billion. Without helping the upper atmosphere by reducing pollution, there is every possibility that the human race will cease to exist.

Because of manmade droughts or over rainfall, humans and other animals will suffer without food to eat.

Burning the coals is primarily responsible for the debacle. No doubt, Western Europe will switch back to coal because of the Russian position. However, they do not think it is best for them or the Earth.
 
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Bangladesh neither have large reserves of coal/gas or hydro power potential. So best option going forward is nuclear power plants along with solar/wind. Problem with solar is it requires land which again BD doesn't have luxury of.

Nuclear power plants are expensive initially but in the long run better option. Pakistan right now generating 4000MW from nuclear plants which have saved us from power shortages for last couple of months. Along with 7k MW hydro power as dams are filled after monsoon. Along with cheap local coal Thar plants. Right now our imported fuel plants are only working at 25% as there is no need to run them at full capacity.
 
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Bangladesh neither have large reserves of coal/gas or hydro power potential. So best option going forward is nuclear power plants along with solar/wind. Problem with solar is it requires land which again BD doesn't have luxury of.

Nuclear power plants are expensive initially but in the long run better option. Pakistan right now generating 4000MW from nuclear plants which have saved us from power shortages for last couple of months. Along with 7k MW hydro power as dams are filled after monsoon. Along with cheap local coal Thar plants. Right now our imported fuel plants are only working at 25% as there is no need to run them at full capacity.


Things will slowly start to improve in BD due to following plants coming online:



1) Rampal Coal Power Station 1.32 GW - Opening September 2022

2) Roopur Nuclear 2.4 GW - First reactor will be in service 2023 and 2nd in 2024


3) Matarbari Coal 1.2GW - Start operation in 2024.


Yes BD is facing difficulties right now but in a years time with Rampal and one of the two Roopur reactors providing power it will be in a much better position. By 2024 all it's power issues will be eliminated even if the price of gas remains high.

In the latter part of this decade 500MW of hydroelectric power will flow from Nepal via India and many GWs could flow from Nepal/Bhutan by 2030.
 
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Things will slowly start to improve in BD due to following plants coming online:



1) Rampal Coal Power Station 1.32 GW - Opening September 2022

2) Roopur Nuclear 2.4 GW - First reactor will be in service 2023 and 2nd in 2024


3) Matarbari Coal 1.2GW - Start operation in 2024.


Yes BD is facing difficulties right now but in a years time with Rampal and one of the two Roopur reactors providing power it will be in a much better position. By 2024 all it's power issues will be eliminated even if the price of gas remains high.

In the latter part of this decade 500MW of hydroelectric power will flow from Nepal via India and many GWs could flow from Nepal/Bhutan by 2030.

Will these use local coal or imported?
 
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Bangladeshis settled abroad need to install solar systems in their homes if possible……those who can affird should do it…..will be beneficial in future
 
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Loadshedding is prudent in these unpredictable times.

The article says 60% of electricity is gas generated, of which 25% is imported - so 15% of overall electricity is imported gas. In this sense our exposure to world gas prices is reasonably limited. It's also tolerable.

If BD needs to loadshed for 2/3 years to save spending extra on this 15%, I think BD people will accept it
 
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Loadshedding is prudent in these unpredictable times.

The article says 60% of electricity is gas generated, of which 25% is imported - so 15% of overall electricity is imported gas. In this sense our exposure to world gas prices is reasonably limited. It's also tolerable.

If BD needs to loadshed for 2/3 years to save spending extra on this 15%, I think BD people will accept it


Thing will start to ease substantially from September as Rampal coal fired comes online with its 1.32GW capacity.

Load-shedding will likely all be over by the time the first 1.2GW Roopur reactor 1 comes online next year.
 
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Electricity production of 25 July. If oil price remains same the whole year, we'll have to spend 4bn+ on oil imports just for electricity generation. The solutions are coal, nuclear and more gas exploration, although i would divert gas to industries instead of power plants
Screenshot_20220727_173347.jpg
Screenshot_20220726_131829.jpg
Screenshot_20220726_131800.jpg
 
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It's more cheap make electric energy from coal than from natural gas.

Climate change is a ad-hoc ideology created by rich countries to keep developing countries in a eternal developing state.

Climate change is a reality but the prediction they are making maybe a bit exaggerated.

I recently watched two documentary on pakistan and north india heatwave and devastation it created on food producton



It reminds me of Quran verse

30:41. “Mischief has appeared in the land and the sea because of what the hands of men have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of what they have done, so that they may turn (away from evil).”

May Allah protect the muslims from the upcoming devastations.
 
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Bangladesh neither have large reserves of coal/gas or hydro power potential. So best option going forward is nuclear power plants along with solar/wind. Problem with solar is it requires land which again BD doesn't have luxury of.

Nuclear power plants are expensive initially but in the long run better option. Pakistan right now generating 4000MW from nuclear plants which have saved us from power shortages for last couple of months. Along with 7k MW hydro power as dams are filled after monsoon. Along with cheap local coal Thar plants. Right now our imported fuel plants are only working at 25% as there is no need to run them at full capacity.

Insha-Allah we will have 1.2 GWe Nuclear power by 2023 and 2.4 GWe by 2024.

Daily_Sun_2020-12-09-01.jpg


ep-bd-Fuel_Loading_Starts_In_Another_Reference_Project_Of_Rooppur_NPP.jpg


1659486887155.png
 
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Please do not be so sure of your position on the use of coal as fuel to produce electricity.

Have you noticed the rise of temperature this summer in the northern hemisphere as well? The thickness of the Arctic (could it be the Antarctic?) ice layers has been reduced to only 12m when normally it is 48 m.

We have only one Earth where the population will soon rise to 9 billion. Without helping the upper atmosphere by reducing pollution, there is every possibility that the human race will cease to exist.

Because of manmade droughts or over rainfall, humans and other animals will suffer without food to eat.

Burning the coals is primarily responsible for the debacle. No doubt, Western Europe will switch back to coal because of the Russian position. However, they do not think it is best for them or the Earth.
You can be concern about artic first.
I think the natural is to be concerned about the people of your country first, and erase extreme porverty from the face or Earth.

You can keep repeating the lies created by rich people who dont give a fck about that.

Climate change is a reality but the prediction they are making maybe a bit exaggerated.

I recently watched two documentary on pakistan and north india heatwave and devastation it created on food producton



It reminds me of Quran verse

30:41. “Mischief has appeared in the land and the sea because of what the hands of men have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of what they have done, so that they may turn (away from evil).”

May Allah protect the muslims from the upcoming devastations.

That surah is likely talking about HAARP ionospheric heater.
Ionosphere have large amount of energy that come from sun, you just need to know how to handle through chain reactions to use in weather modification, or making vibe piezoelectric rocks in the Earth crust to provocate earthquakes and tsunamis.
 
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Btw it's funny see people talking about religion and prophecies when they're talking about climatic change.

Because, climate change is another religion, a faith thing.

But, while we dont know if the Abrahamic God exists really or not.

We can certainly know that climate change is a fake religion ideology made by rich selfish men.

If climate change would be a real thing, massmedia wouldn't speak about it. Like they did with peak oil.
 
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