surplus
Country may witness 70% surplus in electricity generation capacity this winter
More than two-thirds of the total power generation capacity will remain idle this coming winter, as more power is added to the national grid from the private sector pushing up the capacity payment obligation of the government of Bangladesh.
It comes at a time when already the government’s outstanding bills to the private sector power producers has ballooned out to $3.5 billion.
According to the Power Division’s official statistics, as of September 13, 2023, the country's power generation capacity was 27,834 MW including off-grid renewable and captive power, while the highest generated in a day was 15,648 MW.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) official data shows the country generated 14,021 MW on September 26, while covering the excess demand by resorting to load shedding of 113 MW.
It means half the power generation capacity remains utilised, while load shedding is also unavoidable.
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According to power industry insiders, the surplus power situation will be getting worse in the coming winter with more electricity coming to the national grid from the private sector power plants in the next few months and installed generation capacity may cross 30,000 MW, increasing the surplus electricity to about 70 percent as demand usually dips during the season.
The expected boost to capacity includes 1,224 MW from S Alam Group’s power plant in Bashkhali of Chattagram (of which first unit of 620 MW already came to the grid), 718 MW electricity from Reliance Power LNG-based Plant in Meghnaghat, 590 MW from LNG-based GE-Summit Meghnaghat-2 power plant and 584 MW from LNG-based Unique Group’s power plant in Meghnaghat.
The sponsors of these plants are working hard to persuade the government to allow them to officially commission their plants as all of them are ready for operation. But due to shortage of gas they are not allowed to start operation.
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In the meantime, more electricity from some of the recently completed power plants already came to the grid, including the second unit of the Adani Group’s 1,600 MW coal-fired power plant, and 620 MW from the second unit of Rampal Power Plant.
Last winter, the power generation came down to below 10,000 MW with the decreasing demand.
BPDB record shows the generation was recorded at 9,134 MW on December 31 in 2022. Experts believe the generation will remain below 10,000 MW in the coming winter as demand is not increasing at a faster pace.
Though 70 percent electricity will remain idle, the sponsors will get their payments in the form of capacity charges as per their contract with the government, said the BPDB officials.
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The government is already struggling to keep up with its payments owed to the private power producers.
Officials at the Power Division and BPDB said currently the total owed to the Independent Power Producers (IPPS) is $3.5 billion (equivalent to over Tk 35,000 crore) as of September 2023.
As per contract with the government, the IPPs are facing dual problems with their bills. First, they are not getting bills on time and secondly, they are getting partial bills, but not being able to convert the payment into foreign exchange due to the dollar crisis.
A top BPDB official admitted the problem to UNB, saying that they had reached an understanding with Bangladesh Bank under a mediation of the Finance Ministry that the central bank will provide on average $20 million every day to BPDB to cover its costs.
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“But we’re not getting more than $10-15 million a day,” a top BPDB official told UNB on condition of anonymity as the issue is very sensitive and he is not allowed to speak on the issue.
Energy experts said the country is heading for problems in the power sector and it would have a big impact on the overall economy pushing up inflation further.
Eminent energy expert and advisor to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Prof M Shamsul Alam said that with the 50 percent surplus power in summer and 70 percent in winter, the country will be heading towards a disastrous situation.
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“There will be a big indiscipline in the power sector as pressure for private sector’s capacity payment will continue to go up while import of primary fuel will be increasing. Finally, it will lead to energy insecurity,” he told UNB.
In such a situation, he said, the only way-out is that the government has to admit first it has done a mistake by giving permission to the private sector for excessive power generation without consideration of the demand and then change the current policy and strategy.
Otherwise, the situation will be more difficult to manage as pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is coming to raise electricity tariff again. If so, it will further push up inflation, he added.
1 year ago
Country has surplus sacrificial animals: Livestock minister
Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim said on Wednesday that the country is experiencing a surplus of sacrificial animals, rather than a shortage.
“The total number of cattle available for sacrifice this year is 1,25,36,333, which is 4,11,944 more than the previous year,” he said during the inter-ministerial meeting on Wednesday at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock's conference room in the secretariat.
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He further said that the estimated demand for sacrificial animals this year is 1,03,94,739, resulting in a surplus of 21,41,594 animals.
The distribution of sacrificial animals across different divisions is as follows: Dhaka division with 895,454, Chattogram division 20,53,128, Rajshahi division 45,11,614, Khulna division with 15,11,708, Barisal division with 4,93,206, Sylhet division 4,10,225, Rangpur division 19,62,951, and Mymensingh division 6,98,047 sacrificial cattle.
Rezaul Karim emphasised that the country's livestock production has increased significantly, making it self-sufficient and not reliant on imported animals.
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He said, “We will be able to meet the demand for sacrificial animals solely through domestically produced livestock. There will be no need to rely on animals from outside the country.”
Furthermore, the minister ensured that no diseased or sick animals would be allowed for sale in the Qurbani market this year. Similar to the previous year, veterinary medical teams will be deployed in animal markets nationwide to enforce this measure, he said.
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“To facilitate farmers, 999 helpline will assist farmers in selling their sacrificial animals in the market as per their choice, preventing any forceful transportation of animals along the roads. Local law enforcement agencies will be responsible for implementing necessary measures in this regard,” added the minister.
Regarding revenue collection, he clarified, “If a farmer sells animals from their farm, no revenue will be collected from them.”
Similarly, if a farmer sells animals from their residence, they will not be required to pay any proceeds, he said.
Additionally, if someone sells animals while on their way to the market, the lessee collector will not be authorised to forcibly collect payment or revenue from them.”
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International goods and services trade surplus in China stood at 424 billion yuan (about 60 billion U.S. dollars) in May, according to official data.
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