State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has sought cooperation from Japan to implement Bangladesh's integrated energy and power master plan.  "Japan can help prepare and implement a smart and detailed master plan which will take forward other sectors from behind,”  he told Iwama Kiminori, the newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh, while making a courtesy call on him at the power and energy ministry on Tuesday.   The state minister said that a smart power and energy master plan is needed for a smart Bangladesh. Welcoming the newly appointed ambassador of Japan, he said Bangladesh will require $30 billion in investment in the next 5 years to implement the projects to be undertaken under the master plan. He floated an idea that a joint operation and maintenance company could be formed which could save both money and time for Bangladesh. "JICA can support Bangladesh Power Management Institute to make it an international standard institution," he added. During the meeting they discussed various issues related to mutual interest. Progress of different projects in the power and energy sector including Matarbari Power Hub, underground cables and sub-stations, prepaid meters, smart meters, gas meters and upcoming projects also came up for discussion. The ambassador thanked the State Minister for 100 percent electrification and said that Japan will always cooperate in the development activities of Bangladesh. He said Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will work on capacity building for human resource development in Bangladesh. Iwama Kiminori said that many more small and large Japanese companies are showing interest in coming to Bangladesh after witnessing the success of the Japanese company ONUDA in manufacturing gas meters. He also said that the concept of 'Smart Bangladesh' will transform Bangladesh into a developed Bangladesh by 2041.    

At a time when the government has been emphasising austerity and efficiency in the energy sector, two repowering projects aiming to add 825 MW to the national grid at the state-owned Ghorashal Power Station have missed their scheduled deadline to start operating.  It is cheaper for the government to purchase electricity from state-owned plants than private ones with their higher tariffs. Repowering is the process of replacing older power stations, or units at power stations, with newer ones that either have greater capacity or more efficiency, resulting in a net increase of power generated.  According to a government document, seen by UNB, the two projects are the repowering of 416 MW Unit-3 and the 409 MW repowering of Unit -4 at the Ghorashal Power Station (GPS). Read more: 2 weeks after grid failure, Ghorashal Power Station’s unit-5 resumes operation Official sources said after the government had undertaken the two projects more than 7 years ago as part of a plan to repower the two units in order to generate electricity at relatively cheaper cost using the available gas supply facilities. The government selected two separate EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors for the two projects, which were awarded the jobs on turnkey basis. Of these a consortium of GE (Switzerland) GmbH and CMC, China was selected for unit-3 of the Ghorashal Power Station while China Energy Engineering Group, Guangdong Power Engineering Co. Ltd. (CEEC) was awarded unit-4. Unit 3: At least 9 months more The state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) signed the EPC contract with Consortium of GE (Switzerland) GmbH and CMC, China in February 2016 to implement the 416 MW unit-3 combined cycle power project. The agreement was effective on January 22 in 2017 setting a deadline for the simple cycle’s commercial operation date (COD) in January 2019 while  the combined cycle’s COD was set for September 2022. The contractor failed to complete its job as per the schedule. The document says the issue of the project was discussed in a review meeting at the Power Division on 14 November, where it was informed that the project will need at least 9 months more time to start its commercial operation as the “hot “commissioning of turbines is not possible before that. “Due to problems with the blades on the compressor side of the gas turbine, it now remains shut. The tender document was sent to the contractor for the work,” it was mentioned as the review meeting’s resolution. Read more: Power supply in Dhaka: Until Ghorashal working in full capacity, situation won’t improve Unit 4: Russia in the mix On the other hand, the document shows, the BPDB signed a contract with the contractor on June 6 in 2016 for implementing the repowering job of the 409 MW unit-4 combined cycle power project within 3 years and four months. As per the agreement, the COD of the simple cycle of the project was set for April 2018 while the combined cycle’s COD for October 2019. Although after a six month-delay the simple cycle came into operation in October 2018, the combined cycle has failed to come into commercial operation till now. The issue was also discussed in the review meeting of the Power Division where it was informed by the BPDB that the commissioning of the Steam Turbine of the project was not possible because of different problems including “high rotor eccentricity and high shaft vibration”. As per the meeting’s resolution, it is mentioned that the contractor was asked to submit a new proposal by contracting with the original equipment manufacturer, said to be Russian. The work needs further approval of the Cabinet Committee on Government Procurement (CCGP) as the existing contract has no scope to allow additional cost for the steam turbine’s required repairs. Despite repeated attempts, BPDB’s additional chief engineer Abdul Basit, who was the project director, could not be reached on his mobile phone to comment on this story.    Read more: 3-hr cuts in Desco areas after Ghorashal 365MW plant breaks down The Power Division official said the cost of power generation through government plants is much lower than that of private plants. “But as such public sector plants are not coming into operation as per schedule, the government will be deprived of cheaper electricity while it’s struggling with buying electricity at a higher rate from the private sector,” said an official who wanted not to be named.   

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Scottish Minister for Environment and Land Reform Mairi McAllan have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the renewable energy sector. They discussed the issue during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of COP27 on Thursday. The two ministers discussed the possibilities of unlocking opportunities for engaging in offshore wind power and hydrogen to further broaden Bangladesh’s energy mix. Minister McAllan underscored Scotland’s support for ‘loss and damage’. Minister Momen stressed the critical importance of the issue for climate vulnerable countries. Read more: Bangladesh is a lucrative country for foreign investment: Foreign Minister He urged that the concerns of those displaced due to climate change are also addressed as part of that. Momen also thanked the Scottish government for hosting COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021. Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Momen met Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland. They exchanged views on COP27 issues that are of particular interest to the Commonwealth member states. They particularly discussed ways for the effective implementation of the Commonwealth Blue Charter for a fair, inclusive and sustainable approach to ocean protection and economic development. Citing Bangladesh as a powerful champion of climate change causes, Secretary General Scotland requested Bangladesh to consider leading one of the Action Groups under the Commonwealth Blue Charter. Read more: ‘Reports misquoting me tried to create adverse situation between Bangladesh, US’ Foreign Minister Momen endorsed the Commonwealth Secretary General’s suggestion to create a high-level core group for raising awareness on mental health issues. He also requested to provide increased number of Commonwealth scholarships for Bangladeshi students. The Secretary General informed the Minister about a new opportunity being created for training young people from the Commonwealth member states in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Bangladesh Ambassador to Egypt Md. Monirul Islam was also present at the meetings.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Friday demanded that a white paper on corruption in the energy sector be published.   “The people of the country want to know how many thousands of crores of takas of corruption have been committed in the energy sector every year.  Who are involved in the corruption?” he said.  Speaking at the council Jatiya Party’s Mirpur and Shahali Thana units at the Eidgah Ground on National Zoo Road in the capital's Mirpur area, GM Quader also said a list of those involved in the corruption should be published to bring them to justice. He said they also want to know the list of those who are siphoning off thousands of crores of takas abroad every year. The money launderers should be brought to justice.” The Jatiya Party chief alleged that Tk4 lakh crores were deposited from Bangladesh to Swiss banks last year. “The government is putting itself under questions by not disclosing the money launderers’ information.” Read:Govt hardly cares about public sufferings: GM Quader He accused the government of favouring the offenders by not taking action against the corrupt and money launderers.  “The common people think that the current government is not disclosing the information of corruption to save the influential persons and the ruling party leaders,” the Jatiya Party chairman observed.  He said that some ruling party leaders look for conspiracy even if Jatiya Party talks about the interests of the country. “As we said, the country is going to be a failed state like Sri Lanka, we’re called fools.  But why is the entire country now facing loadshedding?  Why has the price of the dollar increased so much? Why has the price of fuel increased so much?” GM Quader said.

Prime Minister’s energy advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury has urged officials to work towards building a diversified energy sector. "Creative solutions have to be taken up for resolving the problems in the power and energy sector," he said, while addressing a webinar, titled 'Diversified Energy, Enriched Future', organised by the Energy and Mineral Resources Department on the occasion of the National Energy Security Day Tuesday.      The PM's energy advisor advocated the use of solar power instead of diesel in irrigation pumps. "If we could introduce solar irrigation pumps, it could save half a million metric tonnes of diesel," he said. Defending the government’s gas import policy, Dr Chowdhury said it was introduced as part of the diversified fuel-mix policy.   Read: Westerners have put us into the danger: PM’s Energy Advisor "It is not true that there was no drilling in past 5-10 years in the country. Rather, 35 wells were drilled in the past five years, which means an average of seven wells have been drilled in a year." With senior secretary Md Mahbub Hossain in the chair, the event was also addressed by State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, chairman of the parliamentary standing on power and energy Begum Waseka Ayesha Khanom, power secretary Habibur Rahman, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) chairman ABM Azad, and Petrobangla chairman Nazmul Ahsan.  'Energy and Power' magazine editor Mollah Amzad Hossain and Dhaka University professor Dr Anwar Hossain Bhuiyan made two separate presentations at the event.  On his part, Nasrul Hamid said that Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had shown great courage by purchasing five gas fields from a foreign company on August 9 in 1975. “We’ve been getting the benefits of the great deal to date,” he said. "We have to follow his path by showing courage in taking decisions in the energy sector." He also urged all to face the current challenges in the energy sector through unity and patience. "Post-pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war might not be the last one. Many more dismays may come in the days to come." Begum Waseka Ayesha Khanom said that appropriate technologies and fundamental research works should get priority in resolving the problems of the power and energy sector.  Read: Energy crisis: Parts of Dhaka to experience 3-hour load shedding Sunday Habibur Rahman, on the other hand, said the government has framed electric vehicle policy to encourage use of electricity in the transport sector. "Initiatives have been taken up for setting up offshore wind power plants as renewable options." Modular nuclear power plants are also being considered for the future electricity generation, he added.  Nazmul Ahsan said that Petrobangla has initiated a move to drill 46 wells in the next few years, "which will result in increasing production of natural gas by 600 million cubic feet gas to the national grid". ABM Azad, on his part, said that BPC is implementing a single point mooring project which will annually save Tk 800 crore in petroleum transportation from deep sea to the fuel refinery in Chattogram. 

Speakers at a discussion on Wednesday stressed the need for formulation of an effective national policy and framing the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP) in line with the policy in order to ensure good governance in the power and energy sector. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan (BAPA) jointly organized the discussion titled “Challenge for Good Governance in Coal and LNG Power Projects in Bangladesh: What to Do for Ensuring Integrity in IEPMP formulation” in the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, said a press release. Read: TIB for formation of neutral commission for banking sector reform The speakers said the policy framework of the country’s energy sector is largely held hostage to investors and donors concerned due to the implementation of its plans and projects depends on donors, local and foreign investors in many cases. Due to legal weakness, policy framework and lack of transparency, the use of fossil fuels is harming the country and its people. But no significant steps are seen to control it despite of the government's commitment in the field of renewable energy, they said. The speakers said it’s necessary to formulate an effective national policy and IEPMP in light of the policy to ensure good governance in the power and energy sector. The chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment, Forest and Climate Changes Saber Hossain Chowdhury MP spoke at the function as the chief guest, while TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman delivered the welcome speech. Director General of Power Cell under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Engineer Mohammad Hossain, Honorary Professor of Geology Department at Dhaka University Badrul Imam, Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Research Director of Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Khandaker Golam Moazzem, Dean of the Engineering Faculty at Daffodil University Professor Shamsul Alam also spoke in the panel discussion moderated by BAPA general secretary Sharif Jamil.       

The average gas price has been raised by 22.78 percent for the retail consumers in the country with effect back from June 1. Acting chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Mohammad Abu Faruque announced the hike through a virtual briefing on Sunday. As per the announcement, the average gas price has been raised to Tk 11.91 per cubic metre from the existing Tk 9.70 per cubic metre (CM). Except the users of CNG (compressed natural gas) all other consumers will have to pay more for the natural gas. The price for small industries has, however. been decreased a little. Also read: No hike in gas price now: BERC As per the new rate, the household consumers having single burner will have to pay Tk Tk 990 (7.03 percent rise) instead of exiting Tk 925 a month while the double burner users will have to pay Tk 1080 (10.77 percent rise) instead of existing Tk 975 for double burner. The highest increase was made in the household consumers as they have to pay Tk 18 per Cubic metre (42.86 percent rise) instead of existing Tk 12.60 per cubic metre (CM). According to the increased price, CNG consumers will have to pay at the existing rate of Tk 43 per CM while captive plant operators will have to pay Tk 16 per CM (15.52 percent rise) instead of Tk 13.85. Commercial consumers like restaurants, hospitals, student hostels, hotels will have to pay Tk 28.64 (15.83 percent rise) instead of Tk 23 per CM. The large industries industry owners will have to pay Tk 11.98 (11.96 percent rise) instead of Tk 10.70 per CM while medium industry Tk 11.78 per CM (10.09 percent rise) and small and cottage industry Tk 10.78 (36.74 percent decrease) and the tea estates at Tk 11.93 per CM (11.50 percent rise). Public and private power plants will have to pay Tk 5.02 per CM instead of Tk 4.45 per CM (12.81 percent rise) while fertiliser factories Tk 16 (59.55 percent rise) from existing Tk 4.45 per CM. Energy sector experts believe that the increase in gas price for power plants means it will have a spillover effect and the power plant operators will soon raise demand for increase in power tariff. The BERC acting chairman said this new price was calculated considering the import of 645 million cubic feet (MMCFD) of LNG for the new fiscal year of 2021-22. He said the gas price was last increased in June 2019. The new price hike came in response to the demands of different gas utility companies. The BERC held a series of public hearings on March 21-24 this year.

Experts have urged the government to formulate a “fair and transparent policy” for Bangladesh’s energy sector to ensure energy rights for all the citizens of the country. “Access to energy is now a very important right of citizens. So, environmental safety has to be ensured in energy transactions,” said Dr M Shamsul Alam, an adviser of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB). He was addressing a views-exchange programme organized by CAB at the University of Science and Technology, Chattogram (USTC) on Saturday. Read: Deal signed to set up Bangladesh’s first-ever waste-to-energy project USTC Vice Chancellor Dr Jahangir Alam, Prof Dr Tanzim Uddin Khan of Dhaka University, and former dean of Social Sciences Faculty of Chattagram University Dr Hossain Kabir also spoke at the programme held with CAB vice president SM Nazer Hossain in the chair. Dr Shamsul Alam said an energy policy is needed to protect the interest of the people of the country, said a CAB media release.

Russia is keen to enhance its cooperation in Bangladesh's energy sector, the country’s envoy said. Russian ambassador Alexander Vikentyevich Mantytskiy expressed the interest of his country while calling on State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid at his office in the ministry. Emphasizing on the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) he said both the countries will be benefited if any contract is signed in expedited manner between the two nations on the basis of mutual consent. READ: Grant financing deal of EUR 12mn signed to support power, energy sector He said that Russia can contribute to Bangladesh's energy security and deep-sea exploration activities. Mentioning Russia as Bangladesh’s tested friend, Nasrul Hamid said Russia can extend its cooperation in providing training to Bangladeshi engineers. “We can also utilise the Russian experience in our oil and gas exploration”, he added. The state minister said the Bangladesh energy sector has been growing steadily and a safe investment environment has been created. READ: Budget Power and energy sector allocation to increase by Tk 726 crore Investments from Russian public and private companies will be welcomed in Bangladesh, said Nasrul Hamid.

Prime Minister's Adviser for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Dr Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury has encouraged the US companies, including ExxonMobil, to invest in oil and gas explorations in Bangladesh, particularly the offshore ones. He held a meeting with the senior officials of ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas companies, Friday at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC and welcomed their contributions to Bangladesh's energy sector, highlighting the crucial role of the US companies in this area. Also, the adviser focused on the need for investment in building storage facilities for renewable energy in Bangladesh. Having a balanced mix of energy sources is critical for Bangladesh and its development, he said. Read: Bangladesh seeks US investment for regional power distribution Dr Tawfiq acknowledged that the companies like ExxonMobil, which are looking for liquefied natural gas (LNG) businesses in Bangladesh, require guarantying hedges against the price volatilities. He asked ExxonMobil to expedite deep-sea exploration and to invest in upgrading transmission networks and land-based facilities. ExxonMobil expressed a keen interest in working with Bangladesh to support the country's current pace of development and ensure access to energy. Read: US investors: Bangladesh showcases its capital market potential Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA M Shahidul Islam and senior officials from Bangladesh Embassy and ExxonMobil were present at the meeting. Later, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Summit Oil and Shipping Co. Ltd and Commonwealth LNG at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC in the presence of Dr Tawfiq. The adviser welcomed the signing of the MoU as an important step towards further expanding the existing energy cooperation between Bangladesh and the US.