Of the 18 power plants operated by Summit Group, 13 remain operational while five are currently shut down, the company revealed in a statement. Summit Corporation Limited owns and operates a total of 18 power plants with a total capacity of 2,255 MW and also operates Bangladesh’s second Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) with a capacity of 500 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcf/d). Summit Power Limited (SPL), a publicly listed company, along with Summit Corporation Limited, owns 15 power plants with a total 976 MW installed capacity. Presently, three Unit I Power Plants in Ashulia, Madhabdi and Chandina (a total of 33 MW) are in shutdown mode due to gas supply limitations, though these power plants have Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) till November 21, 2028 under “No Electricity, No Payment” basis without guaranteed off-take. Bangladesh calls for finalizing BIMSTEC FTA Meanwhile, Madanganj Power Plant (102 MW, HFO fired) located in Narayanganj is in shutdown mode as BPDB has not placed any electricity demand since mid-August 2024. The Jangalia Power Plant (33 MW gas-fired) is in shutdown mode since initial expiry on June 24, 2024 of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with BPDB. Furthermore, BPDB has not informed any step for renewal of PPA or resumption of operation. The remaining 10 power plants of SPL with installed capacity of 808 MW are in operation. Separately, three turbine power plants, Summit Meghnaghat Power Company Limited, Summit Meghnaghat II Power Company Limited, and Summit Bibiyana Power Company Limited with a total installed capacity of 1,279 MW are operational as well as the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). Govt won’t raise power tariff despite pressure from IMF: Energy Adviser Summit Power Limited (SPL) has requested a time extension till March 31, 2025 for providing year-end (on June 30, 2024) audited financial statements and declaring dividends. SPL is expecting the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held between April and May 2025, said the Summit Group.

Industries in Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayanganj continue to be afflicted by an acute gas crisis, even though Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, the state-owned distributor of natural gas, claims the situation has improved. As reported in the media previously, garments and textiles firms in the industrial belt of these central districts have been suffering from an acute gas crisis for the last few months. “The factories are in dire straits,” a top top-level manager of a group of textile factories in Gazipur told UNB. Most of the industries in Gazipur do not get adequate supply of gas during their operational periods, the most crucial hours during which their machines need to be running. Inadequate supply manifests in the form of low pressure gas flow, he added. FBCCI urges for strengthening oil, gas exploration to ensure uninterrupted supply to industries Low pressure gas flow is akin to low voltage electricity - many appliances won't run, even though an electric charge is present. The textiles group official said that due to the lack of gas supply, production in various factories is being disrupted and they are on the verge of shutting down. In the ongoing gas crisis, important machines like generators and broilers in the dyeing section of the factories are not being run. This has been posing a great risk for the industries to continue their production and pushing them towards huge financial losses. “Many industries would not be able to pay the salaries and festival bonuses during the coming Eid if the situation does not improve,” said an industry owner. Industry insiders said there are more than 300 factories in Kaliakoir and other areas in Gazipur. All these industries have been suffering from the nagging gas crisis and some of them have already suspended their productions. 100% percent prepaid gas meters within four years: Nasrul Hamid Each of the industries has more than 1000 workers. But following the gas crisis, they have to reduce their production target while some of them use CNG at a higher cost to continue their operations. A similar situation is prevailing in the Mirpur, Tongi and Narayanganj areas, said Mohammad Hatem, Executive President, of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). He said that despite increasing the price, the government is not able to provide adequate gas. “Production in garment factories has come down to half due to non-availability of gas. Many buyers meanwhile are pushing for air shipments as the normal schedule for shipments has failed in keeping the commitment,” he said adding, some buyers are asking for discounts on the rates. More gas likely to be found in Sylhet’s Kailashtila field: Nasrul “Some customers are upset and cancel the order in such a situation,” he noted. Recently the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) has also alleged that no industry in the country is able to run at its full potential due to the gas crisis. A Bangladesh Chamber Of Industries delegation, led by its president Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), raised the allegation when it met Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun at his ministry office. The lone chamber for industries said the prices of electricity and gas were increased on the pretext of increasing prices on the international market in the hope that the government would ensure their continuous supply. “But despite the declining trend of energy prices in the international market, it is being heard that the prices of electricity and gas will be increased again,” BCI said in a statement. Read more: Govt okays import of LNG cargo from Singaporean firm to meet gas demand It demands for a sustainable solution to the problem. “If a long term plan is given to the industrial sector in terms of power and gas supply, it can move forward accordingly." Titas Gas general manager Arpana Islam admitted the gas crisis. But she claimed that the situation has improved to some extent recently following measures to increase the gas supply. She advised to talk to Petrobangla when asked whether there is any possibility in near future to further improve the gas supply situation. Petrobangla official statistics reveal that in the last one month the total gas supply across the country has increased by just 100 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) or so, leaving a deficit between production and supply of about 1500 mmcfd. The Petrobangla data shows that on February 16 it produced 2671 mmcfd gas including its import from abroad against a demand for more than 4000 mmcfd. The TItas Gas data also shows that about 30 power plants now remained out of operation due to gas shortage. Read more: BNP denounces move to double monthly rent for prepaid gas meters

In a significant move to stabilize its power sector, the Bangladesh government has secured Tk 2,062 crore through the issuance of special bonds. This initiative, aimed at clearing outstanding liabilities to private power plants, involves a collaboration with two prominent private banks: City Bank and Pubali Bank. A comprehensive agreement was inked on Wednesday at the Secretariat, marking a critical step in addressing the financial challenges faced by the power sector. As per this agreement, the government will issue bonds worth Tk 1,985 crore to City Bank and Tk 77.50 crore to Pubali Bank, as confirmed by the Ministry of Finance. Sources reveal that the government’s inability to disburse subsidy funds had left private power plants struggling to meet their financial obligations, leading some to the brink of insolvency. Read: Bangladesh's imports drop over 18% in first half of FY2023-24  To counter this crisis, the government’s issuance of special bonds comes with an 8 percent coupon rate, mirroring the repo rate set by Bangladesh Bank. Notably, any future fluctuations in the repo rate will correspondingly adjust the bond interest rate. At the term’s end, the government will settle the bank dues along with interest, subsequently reclaiming these bonds. Unlike typical 15–20 year bonds, these special bonds have a maximum tenure of 10 years, a move tailored to the urgent needs of the power sector. Key players in the power sector, including Summit Power, United Power, Confidence Power, Baraka, Kushiara, Doreen, and Akron Power, are among the beneficiaries of this initiative. The Finance Division also disclosed plans for phased agreements with other banks, including BRAC Bank and Bank Asia, to further address the sector’s liabilities. Read: To ensure good governance in banks, chairman should be from independent directors: Dr Atiur  Reflecting on the agreement’s significance, managing directors of several banks expressed optimism. While banks can leverage these bonds with Bangladesh Bank, it provides the government with crucial financial breathing space. This strategic financial maneuver stands as a testament to the government’s commitment to ensuring the stability and sustainability of Bangladesh’s power sector.

The government of Bangladesh has raised the retail gas prices for public, private and captive power plants and also for industries and commercial users with effect from February 1. As per the new government announcement on Wednesday (January 18, 2023), the gas prices have been increased by almost three times for public and private power plants while almost double for captive power plants and industries, and significantly hiked for commercial users. However, prices for household consumers, CNG-run for motor vehicles and tea estates were kept unchanged.   Read more: BERC (amendment) Ordinance placed in JS allowing adjustment of gas, electricity prices without public hearing The Energy and Mineral Resources Division set the prices through a gazette notification issued on Wednesday applying the new amendment to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Act, which empowered the government to set all kinds of energy prices bypassing the regulator’s jurisdictions at any time. As per the gazette notification, the public and private power plants including the IPP and rental power plants will pay gas price at Tk 14 per unit (each cubic metre) instead of previous price of Tk 5.02 while the captive power plants, small power plants and commercial power plants will pay Tk 30 per unit instead of previous price of Tk 16. The large, medium and small industries will pay Tk 30 per unit against the previous price of Tk 11.98 for large, Tk11.78 for medium and Tk 10.78 for small, cottage and other industries. Read more: Pay production cost to get smooth supply of gas, electricity: PM Hasina tells industries The commercial users of gas like hotels and restaurants will pay Tk 30.50 instead of previous Tk 26.64 per unit.   The household consumers will continue to pay Tk 18 per unit for metered burners while Tk 990 for single burners and Tk 1080 for double burners each month. The CNG price remained unchanged at Tk 43 for the motor vehicles, while tea estates will pay Tk 11.93 per unit as usual, said the gazette notification. Read More: New gas found in Bhola field amid crisis Earlier, the BERC had raised the average gas price by 22.78 percent for the retail consumers, except for CNG-run vehicles, in the country with effect back from June 1 in 2022.

The countrywide load-shedding of electricity has been rising because of a huge gas shortage that has led to a significant fall in power generation. Bangladesh Power Development Board’s official data shows that the country had to resort to 1,500 MW of load-shedding on Sunday while there was a forecast of a power-cut of 1,273 MW. “But obviously, the authorities have to go for a load shedding of more than the projected amount”, said a top official of the BPDB, who preferred anonymity. The official data shows the country’s highest power generation was recorded 12,115 MW at the evening on Sunday against a demand for 13,615 MW meaning a 1,500 MW gap between the peak demand and supply in power generation. Also read: Electricity: Progress in pre-paid meter installation is slow despite high hope “This gap is being covered up by load shedding”, said the BPDB official. Normally, the power generation varies between 1300-1400 MW and the highest generation was recorded 14,782 MW on April 16 this year. According to BPDB official data, of the 1500 MW load shedding, Dhaka region experienced 400 MW while Chattagram 200 MW, Khulna 220 MW, Rajshahi 220 MW, Cumilla 140 MW, Mymensingh 120 MW, Sylhel 50 MW and Rangpur rewgions 150 MW on Sunday last. However, many energy experts don’t trust the BPDB statistics. Rather they believe that the extent of the load shedding and interruption in power supply is more than the official figure. “BPDB never provides an actual figure of its power supply scenario”, said energy expert and Consumers Association of Bangladesh’s senior vice chairman Prof M Shamsul Alam. Meanwhile, many consumers in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere reported a huge load shedding and frequent interruption in power supply. Habibure Rahman, a consumer of Uttara area in the city informed that he had to regularly experience load shedding in three to four spells a day and every time a power-cut continues for more than half an hour. Similar experiences were shared by consumers in other areas in the city including Malibagh, Mouchak, Nakhalpara, Shantinagar, Mogbazar, Niketon, Gulshan, Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Sutrapur, Jatrabari and Badda. They said the extent of such load shedding and interruption in power supply has been increasing in recent days. Also read: Ecnec clears Tk 6,179 cr project to enhance electricity network in Dhaka, Mymensingh BPDB officials attributed the fall in power generation to the shortage in gas supply. They said they have to suspend generation of 3650 MW of electricity due to shortage in gas supply to their power plants. Recently, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid admitted the crisis in power and gas supply. In his verified facebook page he wrote: “Power production is being disrupted due shortage of gas. As a result, power supply is being disrupted in many places. The power generation generally will be normal once the gas supply improved”. He also claimed the price hike of energy in the international market due to the war has put us in trouble like other countries. “In such a situation I regret the temporary inconvenience”, he added. State-owned Petrobangla officials noted that the country’s gas production and supply experienced a fall following a government decision not to import liquefied natural gas from the international spot market due to excessive price hike. The per MMBtu of LNG is being sold on the global market over $35 while a few months back it was below $25. As a result, the local gas supply has decreased to 2,822 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from a regular supply of 3500 mmcfd which creates a shortage of about 700 mmcfd.

Though Bangladesh has over a 40 per cent surplus above its generation capacity of more than 25,000 MW of power, the state-run power agency has continued to purchase six per cent of electricity from the pricier rental and quick rental plants. This has been revealed in documents state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has placed to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) during the recent public hearing on its proposal to hugely hike the power rates despite protests from businesspeople which call the move as suicidal to the economy. Also read: Any rise in power, gas tariff to be suicidal: FBCCI According to the documents the government has to buy about 1,200 MW of electricity from rental and quick rental power plants spending Tk 4,564 crore in the current fiscal year, while BPDB’s revenue deficit is Tk 30,252 crore. To offset the revenue deficit, the BPDB moved a proposal to the energy watchdog body to raise electricity tariff to Tk 8.58 per unit at bulk level from the existing Tk 5.17. The BPDB official data shows the country’s total generation capacity is 25,235 MW of which grid-connected generation is 22,348 MW upto April this year while the remaining 2887 is captive generation, mainly produced by industry owners, exclusively for running their own industries. The country’s highest generation was recorded 14,782 MW on April 16 meaning that the surplus capacity is 10,453 MW (about 41 per cent). Of the 22,348 MW, some 50.3 per cent (11,240 MW) is being generated by public sector entities while the remaining 49.7 per cent (11,108) MW is coming from the private sector. The BPDB documents reveal the government has to spend a total of Tk 71,878 crore in the FY2021-22 for total power production, of which Tk 44,434 crore will be spent for purchasing electricity from the private sector. Of this amount, Tk 37,963 crore will be required to purchase electricity from the independent power producer (IPP) and small IPP plants in the private sector which produce 38 per cent (8,807 MW) of the total generation. The documents show the government has to spend Tk 1907.8 crore for buying power from rental and quick rental power plants which are 6 per cent (6,013 MW) of the total generation. The data also shows the government will need to spend Tk 4,564 crore to import about 10 per cent of electricity (1160 MW) from India. As per the BPDB documents, currently there are three types of rental power plants—15 years rental (169 MW), 3/5 years rental (255 MW) and No Electricity, No Payment rental power plants. It is mentionable that despite surplus electricity generation over demand, the government in the last four to five months extended the contracts of a total of 10 rental power plants. Of these, some five rental power plants got extension on March 23 in the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase while four rental power plants got the approval on January 5 this year and one got approval on December 29 last year. Although the deals were extended on a “No Electricity, No Payment” basis, an allocation of Tk 6,564.08 crore was approved by the CCPP to pay the owners of the rental power plants for their operations. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, however, defended the extension of the rental power plants’ contracts saying that the deals were made for “emergency necessity” to tackle the current situation. Also read: BERC’s TEC commends a 57.83pc hike in bulk power tariff rejecting BPDB’s 65.57pc “As there is a gas shortage, we have to run liquid-fuel based rental and quick rental power plants on full capacity to meet the demands," he told UNB. He also said these plants don’t oblige the government to make 'capacity payment' - i.e. payment for unused electricity that was the case with some earlier contracts. “As a result, the cost of electricity from these extended rental power plants came down by 30-40 per cent from the original cost," Nasrul said. The government documents show that of the approved five plants in March this year, three belong to Summit Group, one belongs to Dutch-Bangla Group and one to Orion Group. It was learnt that the government has to purchase electricity from the plants at Tk 16.40 per unit under the extended deals. Advisor of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) and energy expert Dr M Shamsul Alam expressed resentment about the repeated approval of the rental power plants saying that there is no logical basis for the extension. He said the government should have taken consumers’ opinion through public hearing at Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission before the approval. He also said, “No approval is made for the interest of the consumers. Rather, all the approvals were given only to serve the interest of certain vested quarters." At a press conference on Saturday the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) said raising power and gas prices will be suicidal to economy recovering from pandemic shocks.

In a research study Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has allegedly found substantive corruption involving three power plants—two coal fired and one LNG-based—in the country. According to the TIB study presented on Wednesday, the corruption involved at least Tk 390.49 crore which was allegedly grabbed by government officials, local representatives and influential political circles. Moreover, power tariffs were set at higher rates compared with similar projects which also involved corruption, it said. Also read: Amnesty, RSF, TIB lost credibility in Bangladesh, says Info Minister The power plants are: Powerchina consortium’s Barishal 350 MW Coal-based power plant, S Alam Group’s Banshkhali 1320 MW SS Power plant and the state-owned Coal Power Generation Company’s Matarbari 600 MW LNG-based power plant. “We’ve maintained recognized international standards and practices in conducting our research to find out the corruption... We have necessary substantive documents in our hands to prove the allegations”, said Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of the TIB, while briefing reporters virtually during the presentation of the report. Mahfuzul Haque and Newazul Maula of TIB presented the report titled: “Coal and LNG-based Power Projects in Bangladesh: Governance Challenges and Way Out. Iftekharuzzaman said if any individual or civil society representative can move the court on the basis of the allegations his organization will cooperate. “TIB will cooperate with such an initiative as per its policy and standard”, he said, adding that the corruption watchdog body will share the study with the government and other agencies. The TIB said that the land of the projects was purchased by the sponsors of the projects at huge inflated prices to show the higher cost to take financial benefits. Corruption took place in land acquisition as well, it said. The watchdog body found that the existing laws and regulations were not properly followed in purchasing lands and also signing the power purchase contracts with the government. It alleged that the Power and Energy Speedy Supply (Special) Act was used to award the contracts of these power plants to certain companies in order to avert the competitive bidding process despite there being many efficient companies for the projects. They said the Special Act was extended up to 2026 despite the fact that this law has no necessity to exist at this point of time. The TIB also found that some scopes were deliberately kept in the power purchase agreements (PPA) signed with the government to further increase the power tariffs of the plants. Regarding the environmental issues, the TIB said that the department of environment has miserably failed to enforce environmental obligations in implementation of the plants. It said that the government is not moving towards renewable energy options to generate electricity despite its commitment to increase the green energy’s share to 40 per cent in electricity generation. Also read: TIB condemns suspension of TTE, says Railways Minister should resign It observed that despite cancellation of the 12 coal-based power plants, s the share of coal-based power plants is still one-fourth of the total generation. It said there is a lack of commitments on the part of the government to go for renewable energy though its production cost fell by 89 per cent. The government targeted to generate 10 per cent electricity from renewable sources by 2020. But only 2.3 per cent of power now comes from renewable sources, it added. The TIB placed 7-point recommendations for the government which include framing an integrated energy and power master plan keeping the focus on renewable energy, cancellation of Power and Energy Speedy Supply (Special) Act 2010 and not allowing any fossils-fuel based projects after 2022, ensuring transparency, accountability in approving and awarding power projects, suspending all coal projects considering environmental risks and taking legal action against the persons involved in the corruption in power projects.

Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) on Wednesday approved 5 proposals for extension of 5 rental power plants, having a capacity of 457 MW, for next two years. As per the proposals, the government will pay a total of Tk 5,205.9 crore to purchase electricity from the plants during the contract period.    Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, however, said these plants were given approval on a “No electricity, No payment” basis. The proposal was approved while the country has a huge surplus capacity in the electricity generation. As per the BPDB statistics, the current total installation capacity now stands at 25,514 MW while the supply is about 13,000 MW. Of the approved plants, three belong to Summit Group, one belongs to Dutch-Bangla Group and one to Orion Group. READ: Cabinet body okays extension of deals with 4 rental power plants As per the approval the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will pay Tk 459.98 crore to Summit Group for purchase of electricity from its 40 MW furnace oil–based plant of the Khulna Power Plant, Tk 1295.42 crore to its Khulna Power Company Unit-II Ltd’s 115 MW Goalpara plant, Tk 1157.52 crore to Summit Group’s Summit Narayanganj Power Limited’s 102 MW Madanganj plant. The BPDB will pay Tk 1146.51 crore to Dutch Bangla Power & Associates Ltd’s 100 MW furnace oil-based Shiddhirgaj plant, Tk 1146.51 crore to Orion Power Meghnaghat Ltd’s Meghnaghat 100 MW plant as per the approval.   Additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, Zillur Rahman Chowdhury while briefing reporters on the issue, said the government is purchasing electricity from the plants at Tk 16.40 per unit (each kilowatt hour) while under the new contract, it will purchase each unit of electricity at a reduced rate of Tk 17.529. The committee approved two more proposals of the Power Division under which the BPDB will purchase service at Tk 92.42 crore from General Electric Global Services GmbH, Switzerland for installation of Gas turbine, gas turbine generator at 4th repowered combined cycle unit at Ghorasal Power Station. Similarly, the BPDB will purchase service and scheduled maintenance at Tk 419.99 crore from Marubeni Power & Infrastructure Systems Corporation, Japan for installation of turbine, gas turbine generators at the 400 MW Bibiyana-III power plant. The Cabinet Committee approved a proposal of the Petrobangla to import 33.60 lakh units (MMBtu) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Vitol Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore at a total cost of Tk 1241.48 crore while each unit will cost US$36.70. A proposal of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation received the approval of the committee to import 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertilizer from Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company (Kafco), while the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry’s proposal received the nod for purchasing of civil works of Community Workfare and Services Support under the emerging multi-sector Rohingya Crisis Response project.

In power generation, reducing overheads is usually very difficult, particularly when the global crude oil prices are on a firm upward trend. But migration to low-cost solar energy could help the state-run liquid-fuelled power plants in Bangladesh offset the financial stress caused by a costlier crude. This suggestion has come from key players in the renewable energy industry, who cite the recent rise in diesel prices to pester the government to invest heavily in renewable energy sources. In fact, the government increased the diesel rates to Tk 80 a litre from Tk 65 per litre in November last year, while the furnace oil prices remained static at Tk 60 per litre. Also read: Govt exploring rooftop, floating solar power for scarcity of lands: Nasrul As per the 2020-21 annual report of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), a whopping Tk 779.40 crore was spent on diesel to generate electricity from its own liquid-fuelled power plants.

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase (CCPP) on Wednesday approved 5 proposals of the Power Division-four for extension of contracts with 4 gas-based rental power plants and one for setting up a new independent power producer (IPP) plant. Another 7 proposals of different departments under different ministries also received approval of the CCPA. Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave nod to another proposal of the Power Division for signing an unsolicited contract for operation and maintenance of a public sector power plant. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the consecutive meetings of the two cabinet bodies where their respective members were present. The four rental power plants which got the cabinet body approval are 50 MW Kumargaon power plant, 50 MW Fenchuganj plant, 20 MW power plant in Bogura and 53 MW Ashuganj power plant. READ: Cabinet approves President’s draft speech to be delivered in Parliament About the approvals, the finance minister said that state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity from them on “No Power, No Payment ” basis for which the government will have no obligation to buy power from the plants. Of these, the contract with Energy Prima Ltd.’s 50 MW plant in Kumargaon will get extension for another one year till December 31 in 2022 at a cost of Tk 86.52 crore while the same company’s contract for 50 MW power plant in Fenchuganj will be extended for 3 years at a cost of Tk 278.64 crore, contract for 20 MW Bogura plant will be extended for 3 years at a cost of Tk 106.92 crore and United Energy Ltd’s contract for 53 MW Fenchuganj plant will get extension for another 5 years at a cost of Tk 451.20 crore. The contracts with these companies were extended several times in the past, said additional secretary to the Cabinet Division Shamsul Arefin adding that this time the contracts will be extended at a lower tariff than that of previous contracts.  For instance, he said Kumargaon power plant's tariff was set at US 2.4691 Cents, equivalent to Tk 1.97 in the new contract while it was US 3.4737 Cents in the previous contract. READ: Cabinet committee seeks Law Division’s opinion to retrieve e-commerce customers' money stuck in gateways The CCPA approved a proposal of the Consortium of (1) Confidence Power Holdings Ltd, (2) GE Capital US Holding Inc, (3) Confidence Power Ltd and (4) Electropac Industries Ltd for setting up a 660 MW base-load power plant as independent power producer (IPP) at Mirsarai of Chattagram. The BPDB will purchase electricity from it for 22 years tenure at levelised tariff of US 3.679 Cents, equivalent to Tk 2.943 per kilowatt hour (each unit) if the plant runs through gas. But if the plant runs through imported re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), each unit’s levelised tariff will be US 6.69 Cents, equivalent to Tk 5.4368. The BPDB will have to pay Tk 69,152.16 crore over the 22 years of contract period for purchase of electricity from the plant. The committee approved a proposal of the Food Ministry to import 50,000 metric tons of wheat from Bagadiya Brothers Pvt. Ltd., India, at a cost of Tk 173.36 crore. Directorate General of Family Planning’s proposal to procure 29.76 million oral pills from three drug companies at Tk 148 crore received the approval. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in principle approved a proposal of the BPDB to procure the operation and maintenance service of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for 4th unit of the Ghorasal Power Plant through direct procurement method.