Although Bangladesh’s level of carbon emission remains much lower incomparison to other developed or developing countries, the country hadpledged to commit to the global effort to limit the temperature rise below 2degrees Celsius.

The NDC is coming up for a revisit and it was felt by some that wastemanagement, agriculture and forestry sectors should also be included. It isimpossible for the State to ensure environment protection, and the private sectorneeds to do its part, i.e. the private sector must be involved in the process ofupdating the NDC. Furnace oil plants need to be phased out as a major sourceof pollution with no possibility of making them more efficient. Speakers at arecent virtual discussion agreed that the country is on the right track to pursue alow carbon growth strategy, even though there will be a number of newcoal-fired power plants. The rationale being that Bangladesh presently emits avery low level of carbon in the atmosphere and the level would remain withinpermissible limits. Hence, coal plants under various stages of implementationwould not tip the emission level beyond the limit, since these plants are usingadvanced technologies.

Fortnightly Magazine, Vol 18, Issue 15, January 16-31

25 9

EditorMollah M Amzad Hossain

Advisory EditorAnwarul Islam TarekMortuza Ahmad FaruqueSaiful Amin

International EditorDr. Nafis Ahmed

Contributing EditorsSaleque Sufi

Online EditorGSM Shamsuzzoha (Nasim)

Managing EditorAfroza Hossain

Deputy EditorSyed Mansur Hashim

ReportersArunima Hossain

Assistant Online EditorAditya Hossain

Design & GraphicsMd. Monirul Islam

PhotographyBulbul Ahmed

ProductionMufazzal Hossain Joy

Computer GraphicsMd. Uzzal Hossain

Circulation AssistantKhokan Chandra Das

Editorial, News & CommercialRoom 509, Eastern Trade Center56 Inner Circular Road (VIP Road)Naya Paltan. GPO Box : 677Dhaka-1000, BangladeshTel & Fax : 88-02-58314532Email: ep@dhaka.netenergypower@gmail.comWebsite: www.ep-bd.com

PriceBangladesh: Tk 50, SAARC: US$ 6,Asia: US$ 8, Europe: US$ 10, NorthAmerica, Africa & Australia: US$ 14

The main problem in gettinginvestment is that the financierswant to know about thecapabilityto utilize the fund and itstransparency. But it would nothave been possible forBangladesh to achieve theeconomic growth at around 8.0%if there is lack of transparencyand capability to spend themoney. We should directly seekunconditional investment for ouremission control initiatives... Dr.Sultan Ahmed tells the EP

Increasing demand for powerwould be the immediate chal-lenge for the government as thegeneration capacity now re-mains idle. Improving the trans-mission and distribution systemswould help ensure uninterruptedsupply of quality power while arational fuel mix would facilitatelowering the generation cost,creating demand for electricity… More on Roundtable

Bangladesh remains on the righttrack to pursue a low carbon growthstrategy despite having plans to setup few coal-fired power plants. Ex-perts urged the government to inte-grate the private sector towardsachieving expected carbon reductiontargets. They also suggested givingcareful consideration of all issueswhile formulating the revised NDC.

45

C o n t e n t s

Contents

Encouraged by the readers and patrons, the EP would continue bringingout Green Pages to contribute to the country’s efforts in its journeytowards environment-friendly energy.

5 WORLD WATCH

Latest Development in

World

6 SNAPSHOT

Latest Development

9 COVER

Carbon On Course

Even with Coal Plan

15 SPECIAL REPORT

BERC for LPG Pricing

Formula, Announcing Retail

Price Every Month

17 REGION

Challenges and Way Forward

for Grid Connectivity in APAC

Region

21 WORLD

Lower Global Recovery May

Erode Economic Outlook

23 ARTICLE

Securing Energy Security

of Bangladesh

25 ROUNDTABLE

Boosting Power Demand

Immediate Challenge

29 SDGs

Climate Vulnerability, Covid

and Implementation of SDG

33 REPORT

50pc Power Sector Data

Generation to be Automated

This Year

34 ADB Provides $200m Loan to

Improve Rural Electricity

Access

35 Govt to Procure 12.85 Lakh

Tonnes Fuel Oil

37 Oil­Based Power Plants Idling

42 CLIMATE

Megaproject to Address

Climate Change Impact in

Khulna

43 CO2 Levels This Year 50pc

Higher Than 18th Century

44 Consortium to Help Facilitate

SE Asia’s Energy Transition

45 INTERVIEW

Dr Sultan Ahmed

Former Secretary

Power Division

39 Beximco Raises Stakes inBeximco Power

40 SREDA Asked for

Guidelines to Make Rooftop

Solar Systems Effective

41 Green Energy Getting a

Shot in the Arm

41 Sembcorp Energy India

400 MW Capacity Power

Project

5

Worldwatch

January 16, 2021

Saudi Arabiahas announcedthe discoveryof four new oiland gas fields.

Saudi EnergyMinister PrinceAbdulaziz bin

Salman Al Saud said recently that the Saudi Aramco’sdiscoveries are in different parts of the kingdom.

Non-conventional oil has been discovered in al-Reeshoil field, northwest of Dhahran, and in al-AjramiyahWell No. 1, northwest of the city of Rafhaa in the North-ern Borders Province.

Non-conventional gas has also been discovered in al-Sarrah reservoir at al-Minahhaz well, southwest of theGhawar oil field, and at al-Sahbaa well, south ofGhawar.

The minister said that Saudi Aramco continues to workon determining the size and volume of discoveredfields.

In August, Saudi Arabia announced the discovery of twooil and gas fields in the northern border region.

Aramco Announces Discoveryof 4 New Oil, Gas Fields

Delhi saw the petrol price reach all-time high recently aftera hike of 23 paise. Petrol was then retailing at Rs 84.20 perliter amid firming of international oil prices.

Diesel too received a price hike of 26 paise, after which itsprice reached Rs 74.38 a litere.

The previous high of Rs 84 a liter for petrol in Delhi wastouched on October 4, 2018. Diesel too had scaled to anall-time high of Rs 75.45 a liter that day.

State-owned fuel retailers hiked rates after a nearly month-long hiatus. Petrol price was raised by 26 paise per liter anddiesel by 25 paise a liter, according to a price notificationfrom oil marketing companies.

Petrol Price at All-TimeHigh in Delhi

Singapore’s electricity tariff is due to fall by an average of 3.2per cent or 0.67 Singapore cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh),notwithstanding 7 per cent goods and service tax (GST), for thefirst quarter of 2021.

The downward revision is due to lower energy costs comparedto the previous quarter, says SP Group in a recent press state-ment.

From Jan 1 to March 31, 2021, households will see a declinein the electricity tariff to 20.76 Singapore cents from 21.43 centsper kWh, excluding 7 per cent GST. Including GST, the newelectricity tariff rate for households will be 22.21 cents per kWh.

SP Group estimates that the lower electricity tariff translates toan average of 3.1 per cent in electricity bill savings for domesticcustomers living in all types of property.

According to the Singapore national utility, this will amount toS$2.39 in savings, excluding GST, in the average monthly elec-tricity bill for families living in four-room Housing DevelopmentBoard flats.

S’pore to Cut HouseholdElectricity Tariff by 3.2pc

Indonesia and a unit of South Korean firm LG Group havesigned a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a $9.8billion electric vehicle (EV) battery investment deal, the headof Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board said recently.

The deal was signed on Dec. 18 and includes investmentsacross the EV supply chain, the board head, Bahlil Lahadalia,told a news conference.

An official at LG Energy Solution, a unit of LG Group, SouthKorea's fourth-largest conglomerate, confirmed it had agreedan MOU but could not provide details or the deal's value.

LG Group in Seoul referred Reuters to its affiliate. Bahlil saidthe agreement made Indonesia the first country in the worldto integrate the electric battery industry from mining to pro-ducing electric car lithium batteries.

"We have signed an MOU for the construction of an inte-grated electric battery factory from upstream to downstream,"Bahlil said.

"Mines, smelters, precursors, cathodes, cars to recycling facil-ities will be built in Indonesia," he said, adding that the projectwill be located in North Maluku and Central Java.

Under the MOU, at least 70 percent of the nickel ore used toproduce the EV batteries must be processed in Indonesia, hesaid.

Indonesia Says $9.8b EVBattery MOU Agreed with

LG Energy Solution

6

Snapshot

January 16, 2021

Chevron Bangladesh has always undertaken initiatives tostand by its fence line communities, said a press release.

As part of its annual social investment efforts, the companyrecently provided materials (e.g., hand-pumps/pipes/filters,etc.) for 80 deep and shallow tube-wells for the supply ofsafe drinking water to people living near its operational areas,potentially covering 550 families in multiple Unions residingnear Bibiyana, Bangladesh’s largest producing gas field.

In addition, Chevron Bangladesh has also recently providedsignificant infrastructural support, e.g., by delivering bricksand river sand for the refurbishment of 1,230 meters of fivevillage mud roads, enhancing road connectivity for up to8,000 people living in three unions located near the BibiyanaGas Field.

Also, near Bibiyana, the company has provided crucial keysupport in the renovation of an ‘Eidgah’ enabling approxi-mately 1,000 people to perform their prayers during the twoEid festivals of the year, and ancillary construction materials(e.g., rods/cement/collapsible gate) for the renovation of a vil-lage mosque, covering about 300 people in the community.

Chevron Bangladesh Supports ItsFence Line Communities

Summit Oil & Shipping Co. Ltd. (SOSCL), the largestprivate importer and supplier of fuel oil in Bangladesh,recently received the prestigious ‘President's IndustrialDevelopment Award 2018’ in the small industries cate-gory for the outstanding contribution to the nationaleconomy.

Salman Khan, Director - Operations of SOSCL on re-ceiving the award remarked, “We are grateful for therecognition of SOSCL’s ongoing effort to support indus-tries by safe supply and storage of fuel oil inBangladesh.”

Presently SOSCL supplies HFO to the following 8power plants in the private sector with a fleet of 22 in-land oil tankers having aggregate carrying capacity30,000 tonnes and total storage facility of 100,000 MTcapacity.

One behalf of the President, the Industries MinisterNurul Majid Mahmud Humayun MP handed over theawards. State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Mo-jumder and FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim werepresent as the special guests while Industries SecretaryKM Ali Azam presided over the event.

SOSCL Receives ‘President's Indus-trial Development Award’

Nagad signedan agreementwith DhakaElectricity Sup-

ply Company (DESCO) at DESCO head office in the capitalrecently.

Under the deal, users of Nagad, the digital financial serviceof the postal department, can now pay the electricity bills ofDESCO without any additional costs, a move that would helpthem get rid of hassles and save time.

The customers of DESCO would be able to pay the prepaidand postpaid bills instantly. The facility to pay the bills began the official journey at a pro-gram at the head office of DESCO at Nikunja in the capitalrecently.

Eastern Bank Ltd is the financial settlement partner of the ini-tiative of Nagad and DESCO. DESCO customers in Mirpur,Pallabi, Kafrul, Kalyanpur, Cantonment, Gulshan, Banani,

Mohakhali, Ut-tara, Uttarkhan,Dakkhinkhan,B a r i d h a r a ,Badda, Tongiand Purbachalwould avail theservice.

Nagad Users Can PayDESCO Bill Free of Cost

Bangladesh In-d e p e n d e n tPower Produc-ers Association

(BIPPA), a platform of private sector power sponsorshas sought loan from forex reserve of Bangladesh Bankfor investment in new power plants.

In a letter to the governor of BB recently, it claimedthe loan from forex reserve will help for setting up newIPPs and repayment of foreign loans secured for exist-ing plants, reliable sources said.

The BIPPA said the reserve will help to implementpower projects under public-private infrastructure ini-tiative. “If such an initiative will take, then power sec-tor will boost up and overcome difficulties infunding.”

The BIPPA also said all IPP projects in power sectorget a sovereign guarantee.

At present, there is a foreign debt of about $3.0 to $4.0billion. “If a loan is available from the BB reserve, alarge amount of foreign exchange will be saved.”

Because the interest rate on foreign loans is 6 percent,they also pointed out.

BIPPA Seeks Funds fromForex Reserves for PP

8

Snapshot

January 16, 2021

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque inau-gurated the Summit funded newly-built Kalakoir GovernmentPrimary School.

Lt Col (Retd) Muhammad Faruk Khan, Chairman of the Par-liamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Presid-ium Member, Bangladesh Awami League and MohammadZahangir Alam, Mayor, Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) werepresent as the special guests, said a press release.

The new school building was constructed on 0.8 acres of landat a total cost of Tk 5.57 crore. The construction was fullyfunded and managed by Summit Gazipur II Power Limited.

One behalf of Summit, Managing Director of Summit GazipurII Power and Summit Ace Alliance Power Eng Md MozammelHossain handed over the school building to the District Pri-mary Education Officer of Gazipur Md Mufajjol Hossain.

Summit Hands Over Newly-BuiltSchool in Gazipur

The 13th An-nual GeneralMeeting (AGM)of Doreen

Power Generations and Systems Limited was held recently ona digital platform.

The AGM approved 10 per cent stock dividend for all share-holders and 10 per cent cash dividend for general sharehold-ers except directors or sponsors for the financial year2019-2020.

Anjabeen Alam Siddique, Chairman of the board of directorsof the company, presided over the meeting. Managing Direc-tor Tahzeeb Alam Siddique, Independent Director MahtabBin-Ahmed and Masudur Rahman Bhuiyan, Company Secre-tary were present in the AGM.

Doreen Power Approves20pc Dividend

The 16th Annual General Meeting of Navana CNG Limitedapproved 10 per cent cash dividend (excluding sponsors anddirectors) for the year ended 30 June 2020was held throughdigital platform recently, says a press release.

A large number of Shareholders attended in the meeting. Themeeting was presided over by Sajedul Islam, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Company.

Navana CNG Approves 10pcCash Dividend

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC)recently gave approval for Baraka Patenga Power to find a cut-off price through bidding for its initial public offering (IPO) toraise Tk 225 crore in funds from the stock market.

The approval came at a meeting of the capital market regula-tor on its premises.

The power producer intends to use the IPO proceeds in making in-vestments on its subsidiaries, Karnaphuli Power and ShikalbahaPower, and repay bank loans, the BSEC said in a press release.

The company's consolidated per share net asset value was Tk23 as of June 30, 2020. The consolidated earnings per sharewas Tk 4.37 while weighted average EPS Tk 3.30.

LankaBangla Investments is its issue manager.

Baraka Patenga Power Gets Nodto Find Cut-Off Price

The Dhaka Power Dis-tribution CompanyLimited (DPDC) hassigned agreementswith three hospitals —United Hospital, AsgarAli Hospital andLabaid Hospital — for

providing healthcare services and medical treatment to theDPDC employees on priority basis and with special discounts.

Under the agreement, DPDC employees and their familymembers will be able avail 20 percent discount on pathologytest, 10 percent on radiology and imaging, and 5 percent oncabin rate from at United Hospital, said a press release.

DPDC employees will also get 10 percent, 5 percent, and 3percent discount on pathology, radiology and imaging, cabinrate and treatment, respectively at Asgar Ali Hospital.

In addition, some 20 percent discount on pathology test, 10percent on radiology and imaging, and 10 percent on cabinrate are also available at LabAid hospital.

DPDC Inks Deal with 3 Hospitals

At the Branch of JSC AEM-technology in Volgodonsk theplant's specialists completed a finishing weld connecting thetwo halves of the reactor. This is a key stage in the manufacture of the reactor pressurevessel for the first Unit of the Rooppur NPP.The operation lasted for 10 days with continuous heating ofthe weld zone - from 150 to 300 degrees. During this time,about two tons of flux and more than one and a half tons ofwire with a diameter of 4 mm are used. After welding, the reactor pressure vessel weighing 320 tonsis heated to 300 degrees and using a crane is transferred tothe furnace, where the item will be heat treated for two daysThe next stage is test operations. Specialists carry out thewhole range of test measures in the weld zones: Radi-ographic, ultrasonic and penetrant tests.

Atommash Connected 2 Semi-Vesselsof Nuclear Reactor for RNPP

9

Cover

January 16, 2021

Bangladesh’s energy sector growth and the conse-quent economic development have so far takenplace through following low carbon path. The

country’s level of carbon or Green House Gas (GHG)emission remained much lower than other developed anddeveloping countries. Yet, the country like other countriespledged to reduce the emission from the existing level tocontribute to the global effort to limit the temperature risebelow 2 degrees Celsius. Bangladesh had committed inthe NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) to reducecarbon emission by 5% with its own resources and an ad-ditional 10% subject to availability of external resources.

Speakers at a recent discussion highlighted the presentstate of growth strategy and observed that the country re-mains on the right track to pursue a low carbon growthstrategy — be it in the energy sector or overall economicdevelopment — despite having plans to set up a few coal-fired power plants. They recommended the governmentto integrate the private sector towards achieving expectedcarbon reduction targets. They also suggested giving care-ful consideration of all issues while formulating the re-vised NDC and its appropriate validation before formallysubmitting it to the United Nations Framework Conven-tion on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Energy & Power magazine in collabora-tion with M2K Technology and Tradingorganized the virtual discussion on“Bangladesh Energy Sector: TowardsLow Carbon Growth” on 9 January2021, moderated by EP Editor MollahAmzad Hossan. Experts and officialsconcerned took part in the event held aspart of a series titled “EP Talks”.

Dr. Sultan Ahmed, former Secretary ofPower Division, said that Bangladeshemits very low level of carbon in the at-mosphere and the level would still re-main within the limit subject toachieving the country’s renewable en-ergy target and ensuring energy effi-ciency. Even the coal-based powerplants, the ones already in operationand under implementation at Payra,Rampal and Matarbari, would not in-crease the emission to an extent beyondthe limit set at the NDC thanks to theadvanced technologies that used in theplants. The technologies would increasethe power generation cost though. As aresult, Bangladesh can claim carboncredits.

Dr. Sultan said Bangladesh has also un-dertaken projects to generate powerfrom municipal wastes while the coun-try is going for developing green build-ings that are expected to contribute toreduce the emissions and pollutions.He, however, stressed the need for in-tensive monitoring of the constructionworks and operations of the plants asthere are a lot of talks about coal trans-portation and emissions from the Ram-pal plant. He suggested strengtheningthe Department of Environment (DOE)for effective monitoring and regulation.The consumption of power in the gov-ernment and private offices is being re-duced — the BridgesDivision office is an exam-ple. They are now consum-ing 36,000 kwh less powerper month.

Nurul Alam, AdditionalSecretary (Development) ofPower Division, mentionedthat Flue Gas Desulfuriza-tion (FGD) unit has been in-cluded in the design ofRampal power plant while

online emission management system isprovided with Payra power plant. Ad-vanced technologies of power genera-tion are being installed in the plants. Wegot proposal for installation of IGCC,but it is not a proven technology yet. Wewould be able to adopt it possibly in fu-

ture. The world cannot get rid of the fos-sil fuel use as yet. Coal cannot beabandoned too. About the possibility ofreviewing the coal-based plants, he saidit would not be possible at this stage tosay how many of the planned plantswould be scrapped. He said the PowerDivision is working with a mission to re-duce emissions at all segments of thepower value chain from generation todistribution through transmission, fol-lowing the advice of the Prime Ministerto go for low carbon development.

Engr Khaled Mahmood, former Chair-

man of Bangladesh Power DevelopmentBoard (BPDB) observed that Rampalpower plant will be a unique model asthe height of its chimney is 275 meters.Steam turbines are being brought underthe repowering system. He mentionedthat the nuclear power plants are lessemitting. There is a plan that nuclearwould contribute 15% to the power sup-ply. The use of gas is increasing for its rel-atively benign nature. A simple cyclegas-based power plant can emit 600-650grams, but if we replace it with com-bined cycle one, the emission will comedown to 400 grams and 50MW addi-tional power would be generated. Re-powering is being done at Ghorashalwhile 12 more projects have been takenup under repowering of steam turbine.No simple cycle power plant would beconstructed in future. The liquid-fuelbased power plants would be retired andphased out as per the plan.

He said that he went through a newsthat the chimney of a power plant inUSA has been dismantled in 2015. Thisplant was constructed in 1949. Howmany years it was in operation? Will itbe fair shutting down all coal powerplants based on this, he questioned?That plant and those we are construct-ing cannot be compared. Time hascome to seriously think about why wecannot grow contribution of renewableenergy. We have shortage of skilledmanpower for developing bankable

documents. We are usingadvanced technology andin that case it is not essen-tial to use superior qualitycoal.

Siddique Zobair, Senior En-ergy Adviser of ACML andformer Member of SREDA,pointed out that 48%power is used in the indus-trial sector. Power use mustbe conserved through car-

11January 16, 2021

Sultan Ahmed Siddique Zobair Md. Nurul Alam

Bangladesh Energy Sector TowardsLow Carbon Growth

rying out energy auditing of large indus-tries. We could not do it so far. This isstuck in mere campaigning till now.There is a lot of scope for energy con-servation in the gas sector, a potentialarea of methane emission. We can re-duce methane emission significantly ifleakage and pilferages of natural gas canbe eliminated. The power sector hasadopted advanced technology for limit-ing emissions. Furnace oil is a majorpolluter and such plants should bephased out as there exists no technologyfor reducing emissions here. These canbe replaced with gas/ LNG-basedplants.

We are lagging way behind the renew-able energy target as the present gener-ation is only 471MW. We have to do alot for achieving 10% contribution of re-newables, including hydropower. Ourenergy efficiency target was 15% andachieved about 8.4%. We need to en-hance institutional and regulatory ca-pacities. There exists serious lack ofcoordination among relevant depart-ments and agencies. Many cannot ad-just with the NDC. It has not beenpossible yet to integrate actions. Itshould not be difficult to update theNDC, but the question is the ownership.Achieving the target would not be diffi-cult if ownership can be ensured.

Dr. S. M. Munjurul Hannan Khan, for-mer Additional Secretary, mentionedthat waste management, agriculture andforestry sectors should be included inthe NDC. Some elements were missingin the NDC of 2011. The government

alone cannotensure theenvironmentprotect ion.The privatesector has amajor role toplay here.We gatherdata and in-f o r m a t i o nfrom thegovernmentoffices andadopt na-tional policyand planningbased onthese. TheNDC cannotbe achievedwithout inte-grating theprivate sector. We could not developskilled human resources. That is why wehave to hire foreign experts. We must tobear in mind that private sector is at thefocal point of development. We have toupdate the NDC in coordination withprivate sector.

He stressed on preparing bankable doc-uments for seeking and securing financefor achieving the additional 10% emis-sion reduction target as per the NDC.But Bangladesh does not have skilledmanpower for doing that. We have totake meaningful initiative for developingcompetent human resources. A newchapter on financing for achieving theNDC needs to be included. Otherwise,

low carbon development cannot beachieved.

Dr. Mushfiqur Rahman, Mining Engi-neer and Environment Expert, men-tioned that rapid urbanization is amongthe reasons for increasing emissions. Wehave to keep in mind the food securityissues while planning. We cannot doanything which would increase the costof living. Affordable energy supply mustbe the prime target in power generation.At the same time, emissions must becontrolled at transmission and distribu-tion segments as well. We must thinkabout increasing use of natural lightsand natural cooling for saving energy.

Environment clearances for the powerplants need revisiting. DOE approvals tothe Rooppur nuclear power plant con-tain 60 conditions. Heights of chimneyhas been mentioned there. Nuclearplants do not emit and as such there isno chimney in such plants. These mustbe revisited. We have taken some proj-ects for limiting emissions. But we failedto achieve desired outcome. Questionsare being raised now whether many ofthese are bankable at all. The world sce-nario has changed. No finance is easilyaccessible now. Accountability is theorder of the day now.

There is no alternative to oblige interna-tional guidelines for environment pro-

12January 16, 2021

Mushfiqur Rahman Khondkar Abdus Saleque Utpal Bhattacharjee

Khaled Mahmood S. M. Munjurul Hannan Khan M Ziaul Haque

Ashuganj Power Station North Unit File Photo

tection. But Bangladesh has issues forincreasing contributions from renew-able energy. Actions are underway for afloating 50MW solar unit at abandonedsubsided area of Barapukuria CoalMine. Further actions may be takenbased on lessons from here.

Engr Khondakar Abdus Saleque, Con-tributing Editor of Energy & Power,connecting from Brisbane in Aus-tralia, observed that Bangladesh for itslong-term energy security has to effec-tively manage the fuel mix for powergeneration at affordable cost. Coal isnot an issue as Bangladesh is usingsuperior quality (low sulfur and lowash coal) in addition to incorporatingFGD, low NOX burner, dry ash col-lection method and high chimney.He, however, mentioned that 140-150 meters are the maximum heightof Chimney in coal power plants allover the world. Australia has not con-structed any new coal power plant forover a decade and rather shut downfew plants. But now, it is experiencingpower disruptions on some days.

Thoughts are gathering momentumfor revisiting generation options.

M Ziaul Haque, Director of DoE, saidthat for developing countries, the percapita emission ceiling is 2.0 tonnes.The Prime Minister of Bangladesh de-clared not to cross that limit. Wethought that we reduced it to 1.3 tonnesin 2018. Assessment is being done now.The results would be announced soon.All the power plants, old and new ones,would be brought under online emis-sions monitoring. The report has to besent to us every two months. Advancedtechnology and close monitoring wouldnegate all the concerns about coalpower generation.

Utpal Bhattacharjee, Consultant of NDCupdate at UNDP, in his keynote speechspoke about 12 million tonnes of car-bon emission reduction by 2030. Theoverall reduction would be 36 milliontonnes. Whatever we plan or do, thesemust not create adverse impact on foodsecurity, poverty alleviation and eco-nomic development. The number is lessimportant, but the priority is to engage

all relevant stakeholders. Otherwise, theNDC cannot be achieved. The NDCwould be updated after taking opinionof all the stakeholders.

Carbon emission in industrial sector is48%, power 19% and transport 8%.Over 98% of our power generation isfrom fossil fuel. We have to go to renew-able energy. We are trying to shift tocoal, but better would be gas and LNG.Solar and wind contributions must bereassessed and better would be replac-ing fossil fuel with RE as much as prac-ticable. Some 710 km of our coastalarea has potential for offshore windpower generation. We have so longtalked about onshore resources only.

In conclusion, the virtual discussion rec-ommended exploring all possible op-tions of renewable energy sources aswell as energy efficiency potentials be-sides generating power with an afford-able fuel mix that would include asubstantial contribution of even coal.The speakers thought that the country’scarbon emission would still remainwithin the limit set in the NDC.

13January 16, 2021

EP

Amid different proposals submit-ted by the operators, the Techni-cal Evaluation Committee (TEC)

of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Com-mission (BERC) has suggested readjust-ing the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) every month.

At a public hearing held recently, it alsosuggested introduction of a pricing for-mula to fix the LPG price in the domes-tic market in line with the internationalprice.

The TEC recommended fixing price of a12-kg LPG cylinder of private companyat Tk 954 as the highest and Tk 758 asthe lowest against the current price ofTk 1,259. However, the price of state-owned company's 12.5 kg container isTk 902 where the government providesa subsidy of Tk 300.

The BERC will announce its final pricein 90 days after scrutinizing the propos-als. It considered that it should useLPG's cross subsidy fund here for keep-ing the volatile LPG market at con-sumers' tolerance level.

The TEC presented its report on both pri-vate companies' proposals and also thepublic company’s proposal.

The maiden hearing on fixing he retailprice of LPG in domestic market washeld in presence of BERC Chairman MdAbdul Jalil and its full panel members atBIAM Auditorium n Dhaka.

Currently, state-run Bangladesh Petro-leum Corporation (BPC) fixes and an-nounces retail level LPG price for itsproduct occasionally, while the privatesector's retail price is fixed by the opera-tors without any public announcement.

There are 28 LPG operators in the coun-try at present with the capacity to pro-vide two million tonnes of gas annually,against a demand of one million tonnes.Private companies are providing around98% of the total demand.

To ensure a level-playing field across thecountry, the TEC said the retail price ofLPG would be based on the import par-ity price (IPP) plus bottling and storage

charges, distribution charges, dealers'margin and VAT. The price of Auto Gaswould follow the IPP plus bulk trans-portation cost, station Charges, VAT,storages and bottling charges. It alsosaid IPP means that the Saudi ContractPrice (Saudi CP) plus premium chargesand freight cost of LPG.

Following a court’s instruction, theBERC started the three-day public hear-ing on the day but it was concluded onthe first day as most of the technical is-sues were sent to the technical commit-tee to discuss first.

The hearing witnessed no big debateover the pricing issue, rather the con-sumers' right body, CAB raised issues re-lated to the 'power and authority' of theBERC and its autonomy.

"Considering the Covid pandemic, weare inviting all to post their valued opin-ion on our website by January 21,"BERC Chairman Md Abdul Jalil said inhis concluding remarks at the hearing.

Six officials from six major LPG traderspresented their written arguments. Topofficials from Petromax LPG Ltd, OmeraPetroleum Ltd, Beximco LPG Ltd,Bashundhara LPG, Promita LPG, Uni-versal Gas & Gas Cylinder Ltd, LP GasLtd and representatives of the LOABtook part in the hearing.

They sought 9.0 percent profit margin onLPG sales, taking into consideration theinternational price of the fuel including itsfreight, premium rate, bank interest rate,cylinder cost and different tax measures.

Both the consumer right groups andbusiness operators demanded stoppageof the administrative interference in theprice fixing process of LPG moved bythe energy regulatory body.

They urged determining a single regula-tor to play watchdog role in ensuring afair price of the LPG at consumers' levelby protecting both the interest of theconsumers as well as the operators inthe business.

Managing Director of the state-ownedLP Gas Company Limited Fazlur Rah-man and also top executives of six otherprivate LPG companies made their pres-entation in the hearing while DeputyDirector of BERC Quamruzzaman pre-sented the Technical Evaluation Com-mittee (TEC) report.

Prof M Shamsul Alam, Advisor of theConsumers Association of Bangladesh(CAB), Ruhin Hossain Price of Commu-nist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Mohiud-din Ahmed of Bangladesh MobilePhone Consumers Association took partin the public hearing.

"Interference of Energy Division in LPGprice fixing process is a clear violationof the BERC Act-2003 which gives aclear mandate to the energy watchdogto fix the prices of 25 petroleum itemsincluding this LPG," said CAB AdvisorProf M Shamsul Alam. He also opposedthe recommendations of TEC to raisethe price of 12.5 kg LPG containers ofthe state-owned companies from cur-rent Tk 600 to Tk 900.

It will be unwise and unjust to raise theLPG price of state-owned LPG Com-pany Limited on the ground of bringinga rationality between the public and pri-vate companies’ product prices, he said.If it happens, the state-owned com-pany’s LPG will face the similar fate ofstate-owned sugar mills as those remainunsold, he added.

The TEC also urged the commission toensure safety, security and standard ofLPG bottles to ensure consumers' safetyat the highest level.

15

Special Report

January 16, 2021

BERC for LPG Pricing Formula, AnnouncingRetail Price Every Month

EP

1Introduction: Asia Pacific Region isthe fastest growing region in theworld and also the main source of

economy, with an average GDP growthrate of 5.7 % (2017). Further, Asia con-tributes about 60% of global growth andthree fourth comes from China andIndia1. About 60% of world’s popula-tion (4.3 billion people) lives in Asia Pa-cific Region and it includes mostpopulous countries in the world viz.China and India2. Furthermore, maxi-mum number of poor people in theworld lives in this region (about 17%alone lives in South and South WestAsia).

Asia Pacific region is blessed with hugeand diverse natural energy resourcessuch as Coal, Hydro, Gas, Oil, Solar,Wind etc. Out of estimated total globalcoal reserves of 892 billion tons, about55% is available within the regionwhereas Oil reserves is about 20% ofthe international reserves (1,700 billionbarrels)3. Natural gas is though evenlydistributed, but bulk of proven reservesare concentrated in Middle East. Regionhas abundant renewable reserves suchas Hydro, Solar and Wind. However,about 85% of total Asia Pacific energyresources are concentrated in few coun-tries such as China, Russia, India, Iran,Turkey etc.; Whereas, other countries inthe region have limited energy re-sources. In such scenario, where energyresources are concentrated in few coun-tries and some countries have limitedresources, inter-connectivity and tradeof energy/electricity is one of the keydriver for economic growth & social de-velopment of the region.

Asia Pacific Region contributes about60% of global growth. Region blessedwith diverse energy resources Coal, Oil,Gas, hydro, Solar, Wind etc. and about

85% of total Energy Resources are con-centrated in few countries viz. China,Russia, India, Iran, Turkey etc., whereasother countries have limited energy re-sources.

Electricity demand in Asia and the Pa-cific is projected to be more than dou-ble between 2010 and 2035, increasingfrom 7,010.4 TWh in 2010 to 16,169.2TWh in 2035. The annual growth ratewill be 3.4% over the outlook period(through 2035) which is slower than thehistorical trend of 6.0% between 1990and 2010. The electricity demand of thedeveloping members will grow slightlyfaster, at an annual rate of 3.8% on av-erage through 2035, and increase theirshare in the total electricity demand ofAsia and the Pacific from 82.3% in2010 to 91.1% in 2035 4. As energy de-mand is expected to rise exponentiallyin future, region needs to take necessarysteps to enhance capacity addition in-cluding development of renewable en-ergy resources and inter-connectivity inthe region for optimal utilization of en-ergy resources and to address climatechange to achieve goal of SDG7 etc.

2. Status of Grid Connectivity in AsiaPacific Region: 2.1 South & South-West Asia (S-SWA)comprises of 10 countries India, Nepal,Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Pak-istan, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Iranand turkey which constitutes 28.5% (ap-prox.) of the world's population. Indiaand Pakistan has diverse energy re-sources such as coal, hydro, renewable,whereas Iran and Turkey has huge Oiland Gas reserves. Nepal, Bhutan,Bangladesh have limited energy re-sources. Generation capacity in the S-SWA has grown from 203GW in 2000to more than 569GW in 2018. As of2018, major economies viz. India, the

Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkeycontributes 90% of the total installed ca-pacity of the sub-region. Currently onthe eastern side of S-SWA sub-region,Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepalare interconnected and trade of electric-ity (Bilateral) of more than 3,000MW(approx.) is taking place, which is ex-pected to increase substantially in futureonce the hydro projects under construc-tion in Bhutan and Nepal are commis-sioned. On the western side, Pakistanand Afghanistan are interconnectedwith Turkey and Iran and are importingelectricity from them. Pakistan andAfghanistan are also implementing toconnect to central Asia through CASA1000 Project. Sri-Lanka and The Mal-dives Islands are yet to be intercon-nected. South Asia Association ofRegional Cooperation (SAARC) an inter-governmental Institution has been cre-ated by eight South Asian Countries forwelfare of the people, including pro-moting energy cooperation and connec-tivity.

2.2 North-East Asia (NEA) comprises of6 countries viz. China, Democratic Re-public of Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Re-public of Korea and constitutes about21.5 % of World’s population. NEA haslargest density of population, as it in-cludes the state (China) with a popula-tion of more than 1.3 billion people.China and Russia are blessed with hugeenergy resources whereas Japan and Re-public of Korea (DPRK) have limitednatural energy resources. China is richin Hydro whereas Russia is rich in Nat-ural Gas reserves besides many mineralssuch as Uranium etc. NEA sub-regioncurrently has a few cross border trans-mission interconnections though thefirst interconnection between USSR andMongolia was put in place in seventies.

Vijay Kumar Kharbanda

Challenges and Way Forward forGrid Connectivity in APAC Region

17

Region

January 16, 2021

The most developed Cross Border Trans-mission systems are between RussianFar East and Northeast China. Electricitytrading in 2017 was nearly 5 TWh.However, there is no intergovernmentalbody/association to support/enhancecross border grid connectivity in thesub-region.

2.3 South-East Asia (SEA) comprises of10 countries viz. Cambodia, Indonesia,Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philip-pines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste,Vietnam and constitutes about 8.6% ofthe World’s Population. ASEAN andChina has been long connected throughcross-border power grids in the GreaterMekong Sub region (GMS). The crossborder capacity under ASEAN APGinter-connections has increased to5,212 MW from 3,489 MW in 2015. Asper projections, ASEAN expects thatpower exchange will increase to 10,800MW in 2020.(APAEC, 2015) . In South-East Asia sub region, three Inter-govern-mental Institutions are working topromote energy/electricity cooperationand connectivity viz. Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN),Greater Mekong Sub region (GMS) andBay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sec-toral Technical and Economic Cooper-ation (BIMSTEC). Five ASEAN countries,Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailandand Vietnam, are members of the GMS.Two ASEAN members, Myanmar andThailand and five members of SouthAsia viz. India, Nepal, Bhutan,Bangladesh and Sri-Lanka are membersof the BIMSTEC group.

2.4 North Central Asia comprises of 8countries viz. Azerbaijan, Georgia,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian feder-ation, Tajikistan, Turkistan, Uzbekistanand constitutes about 1% of World’sPopulation. The electricity trade volumebetween the countries reduced drasti-cally from 25GW in 1990 to 7.6GW in1995, due to various factors. However,in 2017, Uzbekistan made changes in¬banking sector and radically changedits relationship with neighboring coun-tries, which resulted in increase of im-port of cheap hydro power byUzbekistan in 2018 from Tajikistan andKyrgyzstan. In 2018, import/export ofelectricity increased to 4313 million

KWh as com-pared to 2080million KWh in2016.

One of the majorchallenge forgrid connectivityis lack of Trustand relationship,political uncer-tainty amongcountries. AsiaPacific regionneed to separateout their politicalinterest vis-a-viseconomic inter-est for the welfare of their People.

3. Challenges in promoting Cross Bor-der grid connectivity: Broadly, Chal-lenges/risks associated with CrossBorder grid connectivity in Asia Pacificcan be classified as: i) Lack of Trust andGeo Political Relationships/Political un-certainty: Lack of stable government,trust among the countries, political un-certainty, intra-regional boundary, polit-ical governance, security threats etc.; ii)Lack of common Policy, Regulatory &Legal framework: Lack of coordinationof policies/ regulatory framework, Lackof coordinated transmission planningand system operation, harmonization ofgrid codes, absence of Institutionaliza-tion viz. forming association /forum ofregulators for coordination of regula-tions and for coordinated transmissionplanning etc. iii) Financial and Com-mercial risks: financial closure of crossborder power projects; taxes/duties,Common currency, tariff framework,Offtake risks associated with PPAs andTransmission Service Agreements, Openaccess and trans-country transmissionwheeling framework, transparent dis-pute resolution mechanism etc.; iv)Cross Border Power Project Implemen-tation challenges: Lack of transparentpolicies on Land acquisition, right ofway, environmental clearances, con-tract enforcement etc.

4. Role of Inter-Governmental Institu-tions/Multilateral Development Banks &Regional/Global Institutions working topromote Grid connectivity: Country

Governments in each sub-region havetaken initiative and created Intergovern-mental Institutions such as SAARC (South Asia; 8 countries), BIMSTEC (Partof South Asia and South East Asia; 7countries), ASEAN (South East Asia; 10countries), GMS (South East Asia; 6countries), ECO (South-South West Asia;3 countries), SCO ( North East Asia andCentral Asia; 8 countries), CAREC (Cen-tral Asia; 11 Countries), BCIM ( part ofSouth Asia and North east Asia; 4 coun-tries), to enhance collective economicgrowth, social development etc. for thewelfare of their people and provide acommon platform to work together inspirit of trust and friendship. These Inter-governmental Institutions have createdWorking groups, Expert Groups, Minis-terial Groups, and Energy Centers etc. topromote energy cooperation and alsoprocessed signing of inter-governmentalenergy treaties and have created neces-sary fund mechanism to support con-struction of viable infrastructure projectsas a part of their commitment to en-hance energy cooperation. Primarilydue to prevailing Geo-politics, lack ofrelationship and trust among the coun-tries has impacted role of these Intergov-ernmental Institutions to play aneffective role to enhance energy coop-eration and connectivity in each sub re-gion. Further, multilateral developmentinstitutions such as World Bank, ADB,USAID etc., are also playing active rolein promoting grid connectivity on mul-tilateral basis.

On Global/Regional level, EconomicSocial Commission for Asia Pacific(ESCAP) arm of United Nations is play-ing an important role to promote con-

18January 16, 2021

ASIA MAP

NORTH ASIA

EAST ASIA

SOUTH

ASIA

CENTRAL

ASIA

SOUTHWEST

ASIA

SOUTHEAST ASIASOUTHEAST ASIASOUTHEAST ASIA

nectivity in Asia Pacific region. ESCAPhas constituted Country nominated Ex-pert Working Group (EWG) for enhanc-ing energy cooperation and gridconnectivity in the region. ESCAP’sEWG has developed Road Map (draft)which identifies critical areas such as i)Building Trust & Political Consensus; ii)developing Cross Border Electricity GridMaster Plan iii) implementing Intergov-ernmental Agreements on Energy Coop-eration & interconnection; iv)Coordinate, Harmonize and Institution-alize policy and regulatory framework;v) move towards multilateral powertrade and create competitive market forelectricity; vi) Coordinate TransmissionPlanning and System operation etc. It isimportant for ESCAP to convert thisRoad Map into time bound Action Planto achieve the goal of grid connectivityin Asia Pacific Region.

4.1 Similarly, Global Energy Intercon-nection Development and CooperationOrganization (GEIDCO): A Nonprofitinternational organization which wasestablished in 2016 in Beijing, Chinaalso promotes Global Energy Intercon-nection and meeting global demandthrough clean and green energy to servethe sustainable development of human-ity. By the end of 2018, GEIDCO has825 members from 112 countries andregions, involving 13 categories such asEnergy & Power enterprises, EquipmentManufacture enterprise, Project Con-struction enterprise, Research Institutesand Universities etc. Recently, Govt. ofIndia through its tender for “One Sun,One World and One Grid” has alsoshown its interest to promote develop-ment of Renewable Energy and gridconnectivity on global level.

Way Forward: Adequate supply of en-ergy /electricity is critical for all segmentof life whether it is industry, agriculture,research, commerce, education, healthetc. Cross-border trade of energy/elec-tricity has enormous benefits such asoptimal utilization of resources, poweravailability at competitive prices, to re-duce dependency on fossil fuels im-ports, development of clean renewableenergy to address climate change, en-hancing access to electricity, enhancingenergy mix, economic growth etc.

Cross-border energy/electricity trade isa win-win situation for all the countriesby optimizing their energy resources for

the economic growth & development oftheir region. For example, presently, inSouth Asia Sub-Region, out of eightcountries, four countries viz. India,Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh are in-terconnected and more than 3000 MWof electricity is being traded. Bhutan byselling its surplus hydro power to Indiais earning more than 40% of Bhutan’srevenues (25% of its GDP) whichhelped Bhutan by increasing electricityaccess, creating new industries like ce-ment and steel etc. Further import of1,100MW of electricity by Bangladeshfrom India has benefited in reducingload shedding (1,048MW of load shed-ding in 2012-13 to 307MW of loadshedding in 2014-15) and also in termsof annual savings (estimated) aroundTaka 40 billion (US$500 million app-Shahi’s report). Similarly, import of 300-500MW of electricity by Nepal fromIndia has benefited to meet its shortfalland to meet start up power/auxiliaryconsumption for the new hydro powerprojects which are under construction.India being net exporter of electricity atpresent, is benefiting from optimum uti-lization of generation assets and rev-enue earrings. This shows that CrossBorder Energy/Electricity trade is a win-win situation for all the countriesthrough which they can optimize theirenergy resources for the economicgrowth & development vis-a-vis for thewelfare of their people.

Based on learning's of successful powerpools/power exchanges, Asia Pacific re-gion need to draw Road Map and timebound action plan with a commitmentof each country for enhancing energycooperation and grid connectivity. Inter-governmental Institutions, MultilateralDevelopment Banks, Institutions work-ing at Global/Asia Pacific and largecountries need to align together to over-come the various challenges to meet thegoal of grid connectivity in the region.Successful Power Pools/power Ex-change markets in the world such asNord Pool, South African Power Pool,Western African Power Pool, PJM etc.shows that they have also faced all suchchallenges for grid connectivity in theirregions including political commitment.However, they have been able to sepa-rate out their political interests vis-à-viseconomic interests. They have alsotaken substantial time to overcome

these challenges including politicalcommitment to enhance grid connectiv-ity, creating regional Institutional struc-ture such as forum/association ofregulators and transmission & PowerSystem Operation etc. in their region.Based on learning's of successful powerpools/power exchanges, Asia Pacificneed to draw an effective Road Mapand time bound action plan with a com-mitment of each country for enhancingenergy cooperation and grid connectiv-ity in the region for optimum utilizationof energy resources, development of re-newable energy, economic growth anddevelopment for the welfare of theirpeople and also to address climatechange to achieve goal of SDG7. Toachieve this, it is important that regionalIntergovernmental Institutions, Largecountries in the sub-region, WorldBank, ADB, ESCAP, GEIDCO etc. needto unite and align together to promoteenergy cooperation and integration inthe region. ESCAP being a neutralagency, can play a vital role in enhanc-ing political consensus. Signing ofTreaties/Agreement as commitment ofthe Countries and establishing regionalinstitutions for coordination of regula-tions, transmission planning and systemoperations to enhance cooperation andconnectivity can be followed up in linewith successful examples of powerpools/power exchanges. To promote in-vestment, besides developing favorableinvestment guidelines, selling and buy-ing countries can stake claim by formingjoint venture/consortium for develop-ment of such common generationpower projects. MDBs/ FIs would bemore comfortable to fund such projectswhere more than 2-3 countries jointlystake claim to develop such power proj-ects including associated transmissionsystem for evacuation of power. As ineach sub-region of Asia Pacific, en-ergy/electricity trade is primarily bilat-eral and limited, it is important to focuseach sub-region first to enhance energycooperation and grid connectivity onmultilateral basis in the medium termand it should be extended to whole ofAsia Pacific region in the long term.

Vijay Kumar Kharbanda;Ex Project Director,IRADe/USAID & ED(PFC)

19January 16, 2021

EP

The global health situation hasbeen further deteriorated with thesharp rise of both death and num-

bers of infected people by deadly co-rona virus.

Every day we have been experiencingan unpredictable situation despite thepossibility of availing vaccination in thenear future.

Amid this situation, the World Bankearly of the new year of 2021 has down-graded its outlook for the global econ-omy, and warned that the situationcould deteriorate further if Covid-19 in-fections accelerate or the vaccine roll-out is delayed.

The World Bank with caution said thatthe corona virus pandemic also hasworsened the risks surrounding the ris-ing debt load in developing nations, andit will take a global effort to avoid a newcrisis in those economies.

After shrinking 4.3 per cent in 2020, theworld economy is projected to grow by4 per cent this year, two-tenths lowerthan previously forecast, as more thanhalf of countries were downgraded inthe semi-annual Global EconomicProspects report.

The World Bank apprehended thatChina was a bright spot with a surpris-ingly fast recovery in 2020, but ad-vanced countries which did better lastyear will fare worse in 2021.

The report warns the outlook remains"highly uncertain," and the growth of thegross domestic products (GDP) could beas low as 1.6 per cent in the fiscal yearof 2020-2021 if the downside risks ma-terialize.

The Washington-based developmentlender said with an urging tone that with

millions driven into poverty by the co-rona virus recession, countries will needto find a way to move beyond direct aidand reignite to stimulate growth.

Policymakers face "formidable chal-lenges as they try to ensure that this stillfragile global recovery gains tractionand sets a foundation for robust growth,"World Bank president David Malpasssaid.

Malpass, the chief of the leading globallender said that the expectation for asubdued recovery "assumes that vaccinerollout becomes widespread" and theeconomic reopening continues.

But even if the pace of growth holdssteady, global gross domestic productsin 2022 will be 4.4 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, the bank said.

And, further out, the "lasting damage tohealth, education and balance sheets"may lower the global economy's poten-tial output.

Focus on policies to boost investmentwill be needed to counter "the pan-demic's lasting scars," including throughinvestment in green infrastructure whichcan boost growth while at the same timeaddressing climate change.

Malpass said that would include phas-ing out fossil fuel subsidies and provid-ing incentives for green technologies.

The Chinese economy is expected toexpand by nearly 8% this year, after 2%growth in 2020, while the UnitedStates’ gross domestic products is pro-jected to gain 3.5% -- a half point lowerthan the June forecast of last year.

Excluding China, developing nations asa group will see growth of just 3.4%, theWorld Bank predicts.

The inequality of the downturn and therecovery was dramatic, and drove a"devastating rise in extreme poverty,"Malpass commented while he was ex-pressing his observation.

"People at the bottom of the incomescale were the hardest hit" by the reces-sion, and "unfortunately will likely bethe slowest to regain jobs, get healthcare, vaccinations and adjust to thepost-Covid-19 economy," he passed hisremark.

The pandemic also exacerbated thedebt risks of developing nations.

"The global community needs to actrapidly and forcefully to make sure therecent debt accumulation does not endwith a string of debt crises,” AyhanKose, the Acting Vice President for Eq-uitable Growth and Financial Institu-tions of the World Bank commented.

"The developing world cannot affordanother lost decade," he continued.

On the other hand the World Bank headMalpass said that the situation is a "redalert" with some low-income countriesfacing deep debt distress, and the morethey are forced to pay to service pre-pandemic debt, the less they have forhealth care and investment.

China, which holds 65% of the debt ofthe lowest-income countries, has a keyrole to play in addressing the challenge,and Malpass again called on the coun-try to provide transparency on the termsof the loans, including collateral and in-terest rates.

Serajul Islam Quadir;The writer is the former Bureau Chief ofReuters in Bangladesh and Executive Ed-itor of the American Chambers’ Journal.

21

World

January 16, 2021

Lower Global Recovery May Erode

Economic Outlook

Serajul Islam Quadir

EP

In the backdrop of commendable suc-cess in power generation achieving23,583MW installed capacity (with

captive), many under implementationprojects for upgrading and modernizingpower transmission grid distribution net-works, now the challenge is securingthe energy security of Bangladesh. 98%population is already under coverage ofgrid power supply. Government is wellon course of achieving grid coverage of100% by December this year. Sourcesin Ministry of Power, Energy and Min-eral Resources (MPEMR) stated of bring-ing into operation 111 new power plantsof 18,606 MW capacity in 11 years. Thesystem now has 3.87 Crore consumers.The per capita power use has increasedto 512 kWh in 2020 from 220 kWh in2009. Government plan is achieving60,000MW installed capacity by 2041.

SDG7 requires Bangladesh to ensure ac-cess to affordable, reliable, and sustain-able energy for all. In the wake ofdepleting own proven natural gas re-serve, reluctance to exploit coal re-source and increasing dependence onimported fuel challenges are emergingchallenges in securing energy securityof Bangladesh. MPEMR appears to be ina dilemma whether or not to pursuewith several imported coal fired powerplants in the pipeline or replacing mostof these with gas based (imported LNG)power plants. MPEMR sources statedabout their plan for setting up 8,575MWtotal capacity new gas based powerplants between 2016-2033. 8 new gasbased plants with combined capacity of3,471MW is due to start commercialoperation between 2020-2022. In ap-

preciation of the reality that highest gen-eration of grid connected power so farachieved remaining below 13,000MWand the industries still using about3,000MW captive power, deep analysisand evaluation are required to achievethe mission of sustainable energy secu-rity.

Questions are: Can Bangladesh main-tain sustainable supply of required fuel(domestic and imported), can powertransmission and distribution networksadvance to a level of reliability for sup-plying quality power on uninterruptiblebasis? Can power be supplied at priceaffordable to all?

Industries rely on captive generationwith the excuse that grid power is stillnot reliable for supplying quality poweron uninterruptible basis and is relativelyexpensive. Consequently, significant ca-pacity of grid power remains idle mak-ing single buyer BPDB paying capacitycharge to generators.

Challenges of Power Value Chain

Despite having huge surplus capacity ofgeneration, power system of Bangladeshstill suffers from reliable supply of qual-

ity power to all users for constraints ofpower transmission grid and distributionnetworks. There are also issues with fuelsupply. Consequently, industrial con-sumers rely on own captive power gen-eration. Power System Master Plans(2016) should have ensured compliancemechanism for integrated developmentof all segments including developingown fuel exploitations as well as im-ported fuel. If about 2,800MW captivepower reliance could be replaced withgrid power, the highest generation of16,000MW could ensure far better uti-lization of 20,383 MW grid power gen-eration capacity. The sole buyer BPDBwould not have to pay capacity chargefor considerable numbers of generatorsremaining idle. Generation cost remain-ing much lower would not require revis-ing power tariff too often as has beendone over the last 11 years.

Another issue created through com-bined failures of Petrobangla and EMRDin taking decision to exploit coal reserveand petroleum resource. Gas supplyconstraint is a major headache. Extraor-dinary delays in implementing import ofLNG through setting up FSRUs andwasting time unnecessarily on too manyFSRUs and small FSRUs and eventuallyabandoning all but two, did not helpthe cause. Government also realizedlate that opening Pandora box for im-ported coal based power plants withoutrequired feasibility studies for trans-portation of coal proved unrealistic.

Government has taken right decision fornot letting any new industries growingoutside Export Processing Zones (EPZ)

Sector

Public Sector

Joint Venture

Private Sector

Import

Total

Present Scenario

Captive Power: 2,800MW, Renewable Energy: 365MW,Grand Total: 23,548MW, Highest Generation: 12,893MW May 29, 2019.

Installed Capacity

9,717MW (48%)

622MW (03%)

8,884MW (43%)

1,160MW (06%)

20,383MW

Securing Energy Securityof Bangladesh

Saleque Sufi

23

Article

January 16, 2021

and Special Economic Zones (SPZ).Bringing entire population under gridpower coverage is a milestone achieve-ment. But domestic connections alonewill not let REB and its Palli BidyutSamity (PBSs) recover huge investmentsmade for extension of grid to remote vil-lages.

In such situation, taking decision ofmining own coal and expediting explo-ration of petroleum resources both on-shore and offshore are majorchallenges. Expediting implementationof upgrading and modernizing distribu-tion networks within the shortest possi-ble time are other challenges.

Reviewing PSMP 2016

We all know PSMP is a dynamic docu-ment requiring reviewing on evolvingcircumstances after a frequency of 5-6years. COVID-19 pandemic triggeringoil market collapse and growing con-sciousness against use of fossil fuel havealso created new dimensions.Bangladeshi policymakers are contem-plating reviewing options of importedcoal based power plants and replacingthese with gas fired power stations(mostly gas from imported LNG). PSMP2016 evidenced complete revision offuel mix for achieving targeted powergeneration capacity by 2030 and 2041.

The main reason for this was continueddilemma for mining own coal. But afterstruggling over the past 5 years govern-ment realized the challenges of settingup infrastructure for fuel import andtransportation as well as securing hugefinance required. Government now isplanning to give higher priority to gasbased power generation anticipatingthat it may be easier importing LNG. Butexperts observe that world will continueto rely on coal for foreseeable future asit is the preferred fuel for providing baseload power generation and technologywill continue to evolve for minimizingemissions to acceptable limits. More-over, remarkable development of stor-age batteries has created avenues forBangladesh growing big in roof top solarpower. Additionally, floating solar

plants, hybrid solar has also added newdimensions. Gas fired power stationsare usually designed for a life cycle of25-30 years while a properly designedand professionally operated coal plantcan be operated economically for 50years. Modern ultra-supercritical plantscan be operated at 40-45% efficiency aswell.

Introduction of Nuclear Power and re-alistic contribution of imported powerare other options. Bangladesh must alsoensure that industrial growth must getmomentum for demand growth for uti-lization of power. Provision must alsobe created for export of power in futureas Bangladesh power demand observedseasonal fluctuations. Energy efficiencyand conservations are other areas thosemust get priority attention. Experts haveadvised to keep all options opened andprescribe balanced and affordable fuelmix in PSMP.

Gas Based Energy Generation

Before taking decision for increased de-pendence on gas based power genera-tion, Bangladesh must realize thatpresent recoverable reserve of own gasin fast depleting. The present explo-ration activities do not indicate that de-pleting reserve would get replenishedsignificantly soon. If we continue to takea ‘business as usual’ approach, own re-serve would completely depleted by2031. Bapex in its present state cannotcontinue as sole option for onshore ex-ploitation. International Oil Companies(IOCs) must be engaged through PSCbidding for western region and deeper

prospects of discovered gas fields. Irre-spective of what some experts suggest,Bangladesh must invite fresh PSC bid-ding for deep water exploration. It maytake 7-10 years to get fruits from deepwater discovery, Bangladesh may con-sider Joint Development Agreements(JDA) as preferred options for explo-ration at blocks adjacent to India andMyanmar.

Bangladesh must also realize that apartfrom Matarbari, no other region is suit-able for land based LNG terminal. Weare not sure whether setting up FSRU90km away from Payra would be idealfor LNG based power plants there. Insuch situation maximum 3,000MMCFD LNG import would be possibleby 2030. These may create embarrass-ing situation in 2030 and beyond unlessBangladesh explores own petroleum re-sources and takes decision for exploitingcoal.

Suggestions and Recommendations

Bangladesh must demonstrate its readi-ness for welcoming FDI for industries inSEZ. It must seriously analyze cost ofdoing business is as attractive as otherdestination like Vietnam, Cambodia,and Myanmar. The fuel supply andpower supply are ensured. Speedy dis-position is another aspect that must belooked into. Approval process must bequicker and bureaucratic interferencemust be as minimum as possible. With-out massive investment (FDI and local)in industries, Bangladesh cannot growas developed economy by 2041. Powerand Energy value chain operations mustbe advanced significantly with theadoption of modern technology. At thesame time energy efficiency and energyconservation need to be prioritized.These will necessitate creation of corecompetence and services of smart groupof right professionals. All these factorscombined will secure energy security -quality modern power supply on unin-terruptable basis at affordable cost.

Saleque Sufi;Contributing Editor

24January 16, 2021

Fuel Type

Natural Gas

Furnace Oil

Diesel

Power Import

Coal

Hydro

Grid ConnectedSolar

Fuel Mix (Per Installed Capacity)July 2020

Source: BPDB, July 2020

Generation (%)

10,979MW (53.86%)

5,540MW (27.18%)

1,290MW (0.6.33%)

1,160MW (06.00%)

1,146MW (05.62%)

230MW (01.13%)

38MW (00.19%)

EP

Increasing demand for powerwould be the immediate chal-lenge for the government as the

country’s generation capacity nowremains idle. And, improving thetransmission and distribution sys-tems would help ensure uninter-rupted supply of quality powerwhile a rational fuel mix would fa-cilitate lowering the generationcost, creating demand for electric-ity particularly in industries.

Energy experts identified the imme-diate challenges of the energy sec-tor at a virtual discussion titled“2021 Energy Sector Challenges”held on January 2, 2021. Energyand Power magazine in collabora-tion with M2K Technology andTrading organized the event titled“EP Talks” as part of a series.

Director General of Power CellEngr. Mohammad Hossain pre-sented the keynote paper and Edi-tor of Energy & Power MollahAmzad Hossain moderated the dis-cussion.

The experts discussed in details theproblems and challenges, and putforward recommendations to ad-dress the issues so that the sectorcould contribute more to the eco-nomic development of the country.

In his keynote presentation, Engr.Mohammad Hossain mentionedthat the power sector has achievedcommendable success through em-bracing and confronting variouschallenges. The target for power toall and achieving 24,000MW gen-eration capacity was set for 2021.We have achieved 100% coverage

of the grid power supply and withthe 3,000MW captive power,24,500MW generation capacitywas achieved one year ahead ofthe schedule.

Now, we are working on ensuringquality power supply on uninter-ruptible basis to all. Confidence ongrid power supply would be en-hanced after completion of theworks. We are endeavoring for en-suring supply from dual sources.Now actions are underway for au-tomatic data generation. Around

50% automation would be com-pleted within 2021.

Engr. Hossain said that consistentwith the prevailing situation. weformulated Captive Power Policy(CPP), Small Power Policy (SPP),Merchant Power Policy (MPC) andIndependent Power Policy (IPP).Now we are working on a compre-

hensive power generation policycombining all these. We want tobring private sector in the powertransmission. The new policy willprovide that opportunity. We aretrying to access wholesale marketof Indian power for a while. Weentered into long term power sup-ply, but our own plants remain idlenow. We will rather purchasepower when it is required. Let util-ities purchase own power. We aretrying to develop that strategy.

Prof Dr. M Tamim, noted energy

expert and former Special Assistantto the Chief Advisor of the formercaretaker government, said that useof grid power in the industry mustbe increased as it remained staticover the past 3-4 years. The de-mand projection for power sectorhas so far been proved wrong.Power Cell should be given the re-sponsibility for better projection.The power demand should be esti-mated from the macro considera-tions. We will be in a serioustrouble if we fail to more accu-rately project the demand for nextfive years. Planning should be re-stricted for 10 years. Planning for20 years in a developing country isuseless. The 20-year-old plantsusing primitive technologies mustbe phased out. Due to gas deficit,about 2,500-3,000MW generation

Boosting Power DemandImmediate Challenge

EP Report

25

Roundtable

January 16, 2021

capacity remains idle. Coolingload is 3,500MW. Forecasting isvery important on how Bangladeshwould manage that load in sum-mer.

He said that it is possible to pur-chase power at lower price ifBangladesh can access to thewholesale market of India. We arenow importing power from Indiathrough two single lines of one-way connectivity. We have to up-date the connectivity for accessingthe wholesale market. Solar poweris traded at 3.0 Indian Rupees perunit now. This is not the actualcost, however. They are looking formarket. We should have at leastthree to four more connectivitywith India for power trading. Payraand Matarbari hubs are being de-veloped. Automated power trans-mission system needs to be there.Rooppur nuclear power plant willsoon be ready for commercial op-eration, but we would not be ableto utilize that power until appropri-ate transmission facilities are inplace. Evacuating more than 10%power from a single source wouldcreate a risk.

Engr. Md Quamruzzaman, formerDirector of Petrobangla, raisedquestion whether the energy sectorcould create a dream career desti-nation for the new professionals.Until such situation can be createdfor the new professionals, the cher-ished objectives cannot beachieved. These areas have so farbeen neglected. In my opinion, thisis a major challenge. Knowledgegathering through training is essen-tial so that works can be efficientlydone without fear. Business asusual operation of the board of di-rectors of the state-owned enter-prises (SOEs) is not deliveringmuch. The Managing Directors arebringing the projects and theboards are simply approving those.The directors have to own the com-panies, provide essential directivesand monitor progresses. The works

must be done through maintainingthe quality and completed withinthe stipulated time and estimatedbudgets.

Engr. Quamruzzaman said en-abling infrastructure would be re-quired to improve energy supplysituation. The LNG storage capac-ity required to be increased if LNGis considered as a preferred fuel.We have to grow smarter aboutfuel use. We would use more LNGwhen global price remains lowerand when the price goes up, wewill have to use more own gas. Forthis, we must expedite gas explo-ration activities. The capacity ofland-based LNG terminal needs tobe increased up to 25 milliontonnes per annum. It would betechnically feasible.

The energy expert said Bangladeshis lagging way behind explorationof own gas. For lack of a decision,lower global price and extraordi-nary delays in commencing multi-client survey, nothing could bedone yet in deep offshore explo-

ration. We could exploit possiblegas resource in the deeper zones.PSC can be done for this.

“We cannot also afford to excludecoal, which is still the most afford-able primary fuel. But we have todecide what would be its contribu-tion?” he said. He added that theMosharraf Committee had preparedand submitted a comprehensive re-port, but was not discussed aboutit. The reports of Phulbari miningneed more reviews. IWM gave a re-port on open pit mining. That re-port was also not discussed. Wehave already observed challengesof transportation and price in caseof imported coal.

Dr. Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Di-rector of Policy Research Institute,observed that primary fuel importdependency would definitely cre-ate an impact. If Bangladesh cancontinue developing its exporttrade, such impact can be ab-sorbed. The impacts from fuel im-port may not take full effect.

He suggested changing focus of en-

27January 16, 2021

Md Quamruzzaman M. TamimMohammad Hossain

Imran Karim Firoz AlamAhsan H Mansur

ergy and power from domestic sec-tor to industries. That will assist inmaintaining cycle of financing.Higher investments must be di-rected to transmission and distribu-tion segments now.

Let the private sector come totransmission, but this must be donein a fair and transparent mannerstarting in a limited way withoutcreating any risk for the govern-ment. Investors also have to sharethe risks. It is high time to bringprivate sector in transmission anddistribution segments. We have toexplore whether we can introduceprivate-to-private sector linkagebetween India and Bangladesh.That will make sectors much morecompetitive.

Huge investment is being made for cre-ating back up facilities for power sup-ply. We have to enter lifts with theapprehension of getting stuck for prob-able power disruption. Generators arebeing installed to address this situation.The cost is increasing. We could supplypower at cheaper rate due to use ofown gas. But the cost is now increasingfor not exploiting our own coal reserve.There is no talk even at policy levelabout own coal. After 20 years, ourown coal may not be mined at all.

Imran Karim, President of BangladeshIndependent Power Producers Associ-ation (BIPPA) and Vice-President ofConfidence Group, pointed out that thepower system has about 1,700MW ca-pacity power plants using outdated oldtechnology. There is no point keepingthese going. Other than captive andother generators, the grid power gener-ation capacity is 15,000MW. Often wesee in media that the system has muchsurplus generation. In my opinion, thegovernment has done it correctly. Thesituation demands introducing privatesector in transmission and distributionsegments. There must be a policy de-veloped for this. I think the governmentpolicy for preferring gas in the futurefuel mix is a right consideration.

Responding to a question about in-vestors’ interest in power transmission,he mentioned that land acquisition is aserious challenge in Bangladesh. Insuch situation, it is extremely difficultfor any other organization other thanthe government in constructing trans-mission lines. Subject to the govern-ment’s generous interest, manyinvestors would come forward. A largegroup of investors are working in thesector.

Prof. Dr. Firoz Alam, an academic, re-searcher and a chartered professionalengineer from RMIT University at Mel-bourne in Australia, illustrated a com-parative power consumption atresidential, industrial, commercial,and agricultural sectors in Bangladesh,India and Pakistan. Unlike other SouthAsian and global trend, the residentialsector in Bangladesh is the largestpower consumer with over 57% of thetotal. As an emerging and developingeconomy, the industrial sector inBangladesh should have been thelargest power consumer. In fact,Bangladesh industrial sector’s powerconsumption is lowest among SouthAsia’s major economies and signifi-cantly lower among other developing

economies with similar per capitaGDP. Citing the power consumptiondata over eight years (2012-2019),Prof Alam stated that the power con-sumption in industrial and agriculturalsectors remain almost unchanged de-spite the nation achieved almost 10%compound annual growth rate (CAGR)of power consumption for the sameperiod. Over 90% of this annualpower consumption growth is ab-sorbed by the residential sector. Heurged exploring the reasons and en-couraging industrial sector to use grid-connected power and to minimize theuse of captive power. Prof Alam hasalso mentioned that efforts (makingsure south facing building’s orienta-tion) need to be undertaken duringresidential and commercial buildingsconstruction to maximize natural lightduring daytime and natural ventilationfor reducing power loads of air-condi-tioning and artificial lights. He under-scored the need for bilateral andmultilateral cooperation in power andenergy exchange/ trade amongBangladesh, India, Bhutan, and Nepalfor enhancing country-specific and re-gional energy security.

28January 16, 2021

View of a Power Transmission Line

EP

“To end poverty in all its forms,everywhere”; what a bold deter-mination and sky-high ambition

of the global community in SDG 1 ofagenda 2030!

UN data says in 2015 about 736 mil-lion of the global population wasunder extremepoverty (income perday bellow 1.90 US$) and 1.3 billionunder multidimensional poverty as itwas in 1990 and now before Covid itstood at 8.2% with a projection toreach 6% by 2030 which is alreadyoff track. One person in every 10lives as extreme poor and 80% ofthem live in Sub-Saharan and SouthAsia. The rate of decreasing extremepoverty was excellent during 1990-2015; it came down to 10% from36%. Covid pushes at least 71 mil-lion people in 2020 in the line of ex-treme poverty. This is to be notedthat about three forth of these ex-treme poor live in rural area mainlydependent on agriculture for theirlivelihood. The poor are hungry,has less access to education, healthand electricity. Fulfilment of basicneeds through increased socialprotection, access to services canreduce poverty.UN defined SDG 1with 5 targets, 2 means of imple-mentation and 14 indicators.

These five targets are eradication ofextreme poverty, reduction of allpoverty by half; implementation ofsocial protection systems; ensuring

equal rights to ownership, basic serv-ices, technology and economic re-sources; and the building ofresilience to environmental, eco-nomic and social disaster. The twotargets related to means of achievingSDG 1 call for mobilization of re-sources to end poverty; and the es-tablishment of poverty eradicationpolicy frameworks at all levels.

Key business area of SDG 1 are avail-ability of products and services forthose on low incomes, their earning,wages and benefits,economic devel-opment in areas of high priority, ac-cess to quality essential health careservices, access to WASH, electricityavailability and reliability also non-discrimination.

Under Target 1.1 eradicate extremepoverty, track record of Bangladesh

is remarkable; in 2000 inBangladeshextreme poor was 33.7% whichcame down to 13.8% at the end ofMDG period. With that base line ourtarget is to reach 9.3% in 2020, 4.8%in 2025 and zero in 2030. Recordshows that in 2019 we had extremepoverty count at 10.5% which is al-most near the target. During 2000-2016, yearly reduction of globalextreme poverty was 0.62% whereBangladesh achieved almost 1% andin last four year it reduced at the rateof 0.75% yearly. We understand ifCovid was not there we could meetthe target where rest of the SouthAsia is far from the target.DoublingGDP per capita in 5 years 1002 US$in2015 stood at 2068US$ in 2020shows the inner strength also.

Under SDG Target 1.2 we need tohalf halvethe poverty level in 15years. Globally Bangladeshi is much-admired for her achievement inpoverty reduction. During the MDGperiod global poverty reduced byhalf and Bangladesh did that threeyears earlier than the stipulated time.Bangladesh is credited for her ex-traordinary success in poverty reduc-tion, as it is the number oneNo.1densely populated LDC and oncemore than eighty percent peoplewere living below the poverty line.The beauty of poverty reductionstrategies applied in Bangladesh isthat not only poverty head count de-

Climate Vulnerability, Covidand Implementation of SDG

29

SDGs

January 16, 2021

COVID 19

clined from 56.8 percent in 1991-92and 24.3 in 2016 to 20.5 percent in2020, the poverty gap (intensity ofpoverty) has also reduced from 17.2percent to 5 percent in the same pe-riod. Moreover, during the same pe-riod, the squared poverty gap, whichmeasures the severity of poverty, hasalso declined from 6.8 percent to 1.5percent. The prevalence of under-nourishment was 32.8 percent in1990-92, which has come down to14.7 percent in 2018. Prevalence ofstunting among children under 5years of age was 42 percent in 2012-13 which has declined to 28 percentin 2019.

For enhanced and more structuredsocial safety network Bangladeshgovernment passed National SocialSafety Strategy (NSSS) in 2015 andlaw on protection for the disabledwere passed in 2013 which helpachieving SDG 1.3 Social Protectionto cover poor and vulnerable. NSSSwork plan for the ministries were in-troduced in 2018.According to mon-itoring and evaluation framework ofBangladesh, we had to target to raise

the beneficiary house hold to 30% in2020, 35% in 2025 and 40% in 2030from 28.7% in 2016. In 2019Bangladesh achieved 58.1% benefi-ciary under SSN. Different Ministryimplement 130 types of SSN programlike Old age allowance, allowancefor the widows, maternity allowance,allowance for the disables etc. whichhas allocation of 13.81% of 2018-19budget covering 2.53% of ourGDP.During Covid in May 2020 gov-ernment allocated a special al-lowance of taka 2500 for each of 5million poor families.

Target 1.4 covers wide range of is-sues relating to life, livelihood andwellbeing. This includes equal op-portunity to all irrespective of gen-der in the area of economicresources, basic services likehealth, education, electricity, waterand drinking water, sanitation,ownership of land and other prop-erty, natural resources, new tech-nology including financial servicesand microfinance.

Resilience of the poor in climaterelated vulnerability Target 1.5 put

targets for reducing death andmissing population in climate re-lated events also reduce loss in dis-asters in climate issues. InBangladesh in 2019 number of af-fected people was 2,487 per onehundred thousand and death ratewas 0.1545 person per one hun-dred thousand. Though Bangladeshis 3rd among countries hard hit bydisaster and 7th vulnerable countryof the globe, in CRI 2018Bangladesh is not within 10 mostaffected country; this shows the re-silience of Bangladesh. From justafter independence Bangabandhustarted with huge plantationthrough coast line, construction ofcyclone shelter, create cyclone vol-unteer and constructing Mujib killa(high land for the shelter of cattlehead) which continues now withadditional efforts by Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina. Bangladesh had itsNational Plan for Disaster Manage-ment (2016-2020) and action planto achieve the targets under SendaiFramework (2015-2030).

Means of implementation of SDG 1are 1a: Resource mobilization and1b: Pro-poor public spending areaddressed well in our budget. In2014-15 budget allocation for edu-cation, health and social sectorwas 12.82, 4.81 and 12.72 per-centage respectively. Educationsector had allocation increasedto15.2% in 2018-19 and in 2020-21 15.1%. Likewise, health sectorwas allocated 4.9% and 5.1%.Also, allocation for the social sec-tor was increased to 14.2% of thenational budget of 2018-19. Allthese help achieving ‘No Poverty’in Bangladesh. (to be continued…)

Md. Abul Kalam AzadFormer Principal Secretary andPrincipal SDG Coordinator,Prime Minister Office

31January 16, 2021

EP

33

Report

January 16, 2021

The government is set tobring 50 percent of data

generation of power sectorunder automation system bythis year to ensure uninter-rupted power supply as welltransparency of power distri-bution companies, officialsfamiliar with the process said.

“We’re working on setting upautomatic machine at eachdistribution feeder to countevery disruption of electricityround the clock, which isnow being done manually,”Director General (DG) ofPower Cell Engineer Moham-mad Hossain said.

Hossain said the digital ma-chine will generate data ofinterruption, which the distri-bution companies are nowcounting manually. “Therewas no such a system to en-sure original number of dis-ruption per day,” he added.

Despite facing many hurdles,Hossain said, the power sec-tor witnessed incredible suc-cess in the last 11 years underthe leadership of Prime Min-ister Sheikh Hasina.

The Power Cell DG said thegovernment successfullyachieved the target of 24,000MW generation capacity and

100 percent power coveragebefore one year of the target.

“Everyone will get qualityand uninterrupted electricity.Industrial confidence will beregained for grid power sys-tem. … we’re trying to ensure‘double source’ for electric-ity,” he said.

According to a Power Cell of-ficial, the preparation for anintegrated power generationpolicy is underway. Opportu-nity for private companies toengage them in transmissionsector will be opened in thepolicy.

The power cell official saidthat a plan has been under-taken for generating 60,000-MW electricity by 2041, ofwhich 19,000 MW capacitywill be gas-based, adding3,000 million cubic feet gaswill be needed per day forpower generation.

The official said the countrywill require 5,500 mmcfd gasfor mitigating all demand. “IfLNG import option is consid-ered, storage capacity willhave to be increased and foroptimization, we should im-port LNG in a larger volume,when its price will be less,”he said.

50pc Power Sector DataGeneration to be

Automated This Year The government will re-cruit a total of 664 offi-

cials by 2021 in two phasesto operate, maintain andmanage the country’s maidennuclear power plant at Roop-pur in Pabna, official sourcesconfirmed.

A station director and a chiefsuperintendent will be ap-pointed for the plant underthe new recruitment process.

Besides, deputy superinten-dent of the station, officers fordepartment of environmentprotection, department of nu-clear safety and reliability,department of radiationsafety officers will also be ap-pointed for the plant.

Of the total manpower, 243officials, including station di-rector and chief superinten-dent, will be recruitedimmediately because theRooppur Power plant author-

ities have alreadycompleted all theformalities to com-plete the recruitmentprocess.

Besides, another 421 officialswill also be appointed in sev-eral phases in the current fis-cal year, according tosources.

The government will finalizethe organogram to operatethe power plant with the sup-port of International AtomicEnergy Agency (IAEA), offi-cial said.

The Rooppur Power PlantAuthorities have a plan totrain up 1,925 officials withthe support of Russian con-tractor JSC Atomstroyexportas per the contract agree-ment.

A total of 1424 officials havegot training so far under thegeneral contract and another517 officials have been sentto Russia for training on theoperation of Rooppur PowerPlant.

Govt to Recruit 664Officials for RNPP

The Bangladesh ChinaPower Company Ltd

(BCPCL) has celebrated thecommercial operation date(COD) of the 1st phase of thePayra Thermal Power plantrecently.

The power plant has alreadyfaced delay due to COVID-19 crisis, sources said.

Commercialoperation ofthe 2ndphase of theplant willalso lingerfor sixmonths dueto the Covidpandemic ,officials said.

They saidthe company

is working on to prepare thedesign of the phase-2 of theplant.

North-West Power Genera-tion Company Ltd (NWPGCL)and Chinese company CMCare jointly implementing thepower project at Payra in Pat-uakhali district.

BCPCL Celebrates PayraPP Phase-1 COD

EPEP

EP

34

Report

January 16, 2021

The government and theAsian Development Bank

(ADB) recently signed agree-ments for US$200 million inadditional loans, including$130 million concessionalloan, to improve access to ef-ficient and reliable electricitysupply in rural areas in thecountry by strengtheningtransmission and distributionnetworks.

The additional loans willscale up the ongoing $616million Bangladesh PowerSystem Enhancement and Ef-ficiency Improvement Proj-ect, which ADB approved in2017, said a press release.

Fatima Yasmin, Secretary,Economic Relations Division(ERD), and ManmohanParkash, Country Director,ADB, remotely signed theloan agreements on behalf ofBangladesh and ADB, re-spectively.

Md Khayrul Hasan, Member(Finance), Bangladesh RuralElectrification Board (BREB),the implementing agency ofthe project, signed the proj-ect agreement.

“Access to electricity in ruralareas is a prerequisite to im-proved quality of life, en-hanced economic activities,

industrial and agricultureproductivity, essential serv-ices, such as health care, andeducation.” said Country Di-rector Manmohan Parkash.

“Uninterrupted and reliableelectricity supply can expe-dite economic recovery ofthe country from the losses ofthe coronavirus disease(COVID-19) pandemic bypowering critical activities in-cluding food supply services,digital education, onlinebusinesses, and essentialhousehold activities,” headded.

Appreciating the govern-ment’s success in enhancingaccess to power, Parkash said“This project will helpBangladesh achieve its goalof providing electricity for allby 2021, and related sustain-able development goals.”

The additional ADB assis-tance will finance installationof an additional 990 kilome-ters (km) of 33 kilovolt (kV)and 3,000 km of 11 kV belowdistribution lines and associ-ated facilities, including 51units of 33 kV/11 kV substa-tions in rural areas in Khulnadivision. This will result in in-creasing electricity access to150,000 rural households.

ADB Provides $200m Loan toImprove Rural Electricity Access

EP

The government is likely toextend the tenure of

160MW electricity importfrom Tripura for another fiveyears as the current powerpurchase agreement (PPA)will expire in March, 2021.

The Indian state-ownedNTPC Vidut Vyaper NigamLtd (NVVN) has alreadymade a proposal to extendthe PPA.

“We are paying Tk 6.1324per unit (kilowatt hours) fromTripura. After the payment oftax, Dhaka pays Tk 6.45 perunit under no-electricity no-pay method,” an official said.

The government is expectedthe tariff comparatively lower

from existingone after freshnegotiation, hesaid on condi-tion of

anonymity.

In addition, Bangladesh willneed to pay Tk 15.05 millionper month as transmissioncharge to import the electricity.

Now, Bangladesh is utilizing24 kilometers Indian trans-mission line and 31 kilome-ters Bangladesh Power Gridline to import the electricity.

The existing four-year tenureof 160MW electricity importfrom Tripura will expire onMarch 15, 2021.

The NTPC NVVN had signedthe electricity import to im-port 100MW of electricityfrom Tripura on March 15,2016.

Govt May Extend PowerImport Deal with India

EP

On 1 January 2021, Bul-garia became the

newest member of the OECDNuclear Energy Agency(NEA) and its Data Bank.

"Bulgaria's membership willenrich the NEA's work inareas such as nuclear safetyand regulation, decommis-sioning and radioactivewaste management," saidOECD Secretary‑GeneralAngel Gurría. "The accessionof Bulgaria to the Agencyalso underlines the develop-ing co‑operation betweenBulgaria and the OECD."

Bulgaria currently has onenuclear power plant at Ko-zloduy with two VVER unitsthat generate about one‑thirdof the country's electricity.

The country has ongoingplans to build a new unit atthe Kozloduy site and two

more unitsat the Be-lene site.Expanded

use of nuclear power is astrategic priority for Bulgaria,supporting the country's ef-forts to enhance energy secu-rity while reducinggreenhouse gas emissions.

With several decades of VVERexperience, Bulgaria will rein-force the NEA's capacity toaddress matters related topressurized water reactortechnologies and their opera-tional characteristics.

At the same time, the NEA willsupport Bulgaria's efforts inmany technical and policyareas, including work to ad-dress nuclear skills capacitybuilding needs in the country,the development and applica-tion of nuclear data and simu-lation codes, and many issuesrelated to radioactive wastemanagement, decommission-ing and nuclear economics.

Bulgaria Becomes NuclearEnergy Agency's 34th Member

EP

35

Report

January 16, 2021

Omera and Beximco, twoleading operators of Liq-

uefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)in the country, have sought atwo-year extension of ap-proval for export of cookinggas to the neighboring Indianstate of Tripura.

The two companies appliedto the Ministry of Commercefor the extension as the firstapproval expired on 31 De-cember 2020.

Not only Omera and Bex-imco, but also other big op-erators are trying to gainexport access to neighboringcountries as the local marketis over-invested with manyplayers.

Seeking anonymity, a com-merce ministry official saidthe time-frame for export willbe extended till 30 June2021. He said a letter will beissued to the companies inthis regard soon.

Earlier in 2019, Omera and

Beximco got the go-aheadfrom the Ministry of Com-merce and the Ministry ofPower, Energy and MineralResources to export 50,000tonnes of LPG to Tripura an-nually.

Each of the companies had aplan to export about 2,000 to4,000 tonnes of Liquefied Pe-troleum Gas (LPG) per monthas per Business to Govern-ment (B2G) model.

However, due to the out-break of Covid-19, the targetcould not be met.

From January to March of theoutgoing year, Omera couldexport only 623 tonnes ofLPG.

Earlier, during August-De-cember in 2019, it supplied120 tonnes of cooking gas tothe Indian Oil Corporation(IOC) following a purchaseorder from the landlockedstate in the neighboringcountry.

Omera, Beximco Seek Extensionfor LPG Export to Tripura

Energypac Power Genera-tion’s initial public offering

(IPO) is raising quite the in-terest among general in-vestors, who placed ordersfor shares 10 times their allot-ted amount.

Investors booked sharesworth about Tk 662.5 crorefor the diversified end-to-endengineering solution provideragainst the Tk 62.5 crore al-located for them.

The lucky few will get toknow at 11 am on Sundaywhether they have managedto get shares when the com-pany’s IPO lottery draw willbe held.

The IPO draw results will bepublished on the websites ofthe Dhaka Stock Exchange(DSE), Chittagong Stock Ex-change (CSE) and the com-pany’s own.

The company has abright outlook dueto being a diversi-fied end-to-end en-

gineering solution provider ina fast-growing Bangladesh.

It is engaged in supplying gasand diesel generators andprovides rent, solar panel, ac-cessories & turnkey solutions;procures independent powerplant and operates and main-tains them; transmits and dis-tributes power; runs CNGrefuelling station and conver-sion kits; imports and marketscommercial vehicles, ma-chinery and materials, spareparts, installation and servicein Bangladesh and overseas;manufactures pre-engineeredbuildings and has entered theliquefied petroleum business.

The bulk of the IPO proceedswould go towards ramping upthe three-year-old LPG busi-ness G-Gas, which has a prom-ising future ahead due to fastdepletion of natural gas.

Energypac IPO 10.6Times Oversubscribed

The government hasokayed a proposal to pro-

cure 12.85 lakh metrictonnes of refined fuel oil forJanuary-June period of thisyear spending Tk 43.85 bil-lion.

The approval came from themeeting of the Cabinet Com-mittee on Government Pur-chase (CCGP) held virtuallywith Finance Minister AHMMustafa Kamal in the chair.

The government aims to pro-cure 25.50 lakh metrictonnes of fuel oil in the cal-endar year 2021.

Out of the 12.85 lakh metrictonnes of fuel oil for the firstsix months, 9,60,000 metrictonnes will be gas oil,1,20,000 metric tonnes Jet 1fuel, 40,000 metric tonnesfurnace oil, 1,05,000 metrictonnes mogas and 60,000metric tonnes marine fuel.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corpo-ration (BPC) would procure thisfuel oil from various sources ofdifferent countries, Cabinet Di-vision Additional Secretary DrAbu Saleh Mostafa Kamal in-formed at an online news brief-ing later.

Govt to Procure 12.85 LakhTonnes Fuel Oil

EP

ACanadian utility has or-dered two Mitsubishi

Power natural gas-fired tur-bines to repower its com-bined cycle plants in Alberta.

Capital Power will use thetwo M501JAC gas turbines inits Genesee units 1 and 2 (seerendering) as it converts fromcoal-fired generation. The re-powered plant will provide1,360 MW of electricity ca-pacity by decreasing carbonemissions by about 60 per-cent.

“Capital Power is following astrategy toward a low-carbonfuture with a target to be netcarbon neutral before 2050,”said Brian Vaasjo, Presidentand CEO of Capital Power.

“The repowering of GeneseeUnits 1 and 2 with MitsubishiPower technology will posi-tion the Genesee station tobe off-coal in 2023, deliver-ing 3.4 megatonnes of an-nual carbon emissionreductions, and will positionit for additional carbon emis-sion reductions in the future.”

The repowering project time-line calls for the units to op-erate in natural gas simplecycle mode during construc-tion, allowing the Geneseestation to be off-coal in 2023,with expected repoweringcompletion of Unit 1 in 2023and Unit 2 in 2024. The proj-ect is expected to employ upto 500 workers during peakconstruction phases.

Mitsubishi Supplying Pair ofM501JAC Gas Turbines

EP

EP

EP

37

Report

January 16, 2021

With the aim of reducingsystem loss, pilferage and

bill arrears, Bangladesh PowerDevelopment Board (BPDB) willbring 3.3 million consumersunder smart prepaid meteringsystem by 2023.

"We have installed 1,220,947prepaid meters out of its total3.3 million existing con-sumers," an official familiarwith the process said.

He said currently the BPDBruns two different prepaymentmetering systems-unified pre-payment metering system(CTS) and STS (UTS) prepaidmetering system.

According to BPDB source, theBPDB installed 1,151,899smart prepaid meters underunified CTS prepaid meteringsystem, of which 1,123,545single phase and 28,354 three

phase pre-paid me-ters.

It said some69,048 prepaid meters were in-stalled under STS (UTS prepaidmetering system, of which67,717 single phase and 1,331three phase prepaid metershave been set up.

The source said the state run or-ganization has four distributionzones across the country, whichwould be brought under prepaidmetering system in phases.

It said the BPDB has installedprepayment meters under 67sales and distribution zonesacross the country.

Besides, currently 99 percentpeople of the country are get-ting electricity facility, as thegovernment led by Prime Min-ister Sheikh Hasina wants toensure balanced electrificationdevelopment in all placesacross the country.

3.3m Consumers to Get BPDB’sPrepaid Meters by 2023

EP

The government haskept almost all oil-fired

power plants shut and im-port of expensive LNG toa minimum to reduce en-ergy procurement costsowing to lower winter de-mand and sluggish eco-nomic activities.

As on December 30, alldiesel and many furnaceoil-fired power plants hav-ing a total generation ca-pacity of 1,140 megawatts(MW), remained shut, ac-cording to state-runBangladesh Power Devel-opment Board or BPDB.

State-run Petrobangla hasbeen importing the lowestquantity of LNG, or lique-fied natural gas, amount-ing to around 388 millioncubic feet per day, ormmcfd, only around 38per cent of the terminals'capacity, to slash energyimport costs as energy de-mand waned.

The BPDB has asked theplant owners to keep themajority of the oil-firedpower plants shut to savethe entity from providinglarge payment for electric-

ity purchase, a seniorBPDB official said.

The board, however,needs to "incentivize" thepower plant owners in theform of capacity paymentso that they can keep unitsidle.

Capacity payment is a kind ofpenalty for the BPDB, whichit has to pay to the plant own-ers, if the government fails tobuy a certain portion ofpower readily available withthem.

As per the power-purchaseagreements, this penalty iscalculated on the basis ofaround 40 per cent plant fac-tor of the power units, includ-ing the oil-fired rental andquick-rental ones.

The Petrobangla, how-ever, has also been mak-ing same payment to thecountry's two operationalFSRUs, or floating, storageand re-gasification units,without utilizing much ofthe capacity of the LNGimport terminal operatorsunder contractual obliga-tions, said a seniorPetrobangla official.

Oil-Based Power PlantsIdling

EP

Germania-Trest Consortium(GTC) will operate Mad-

hyapara hard rock mine in Di-najpur until July 2021 despiteits poor performance.

"We signed a six-year contractwith GTC in 2013, a consor-tium between Bangladesh-based Germania CorporationLtd and Belarus-based JSC TrestShakhtos Petsstroy for manage-ment of operation and devel-opment, production andmaintenance of Madhyaparahard rock mine. Though thetenure of GTC expired on Feb-ruary 14, 2020, we have al-lowed them to continueoperation until July this year,"a senior official of the EnergyDivision said.

The Madhyapara mine areaspans over 1.2 square kilome-ters and has a reserve ofaround 174 million tonnes ofhard rock and granite. How-ever, country needs around 70lakh tonnes of rock annuallyand the MGMLC have the ca-

pacity to sup-ply over 10lakh tonnes ayear if pro-

duction goes smoothly.

"As per the previous contract,the company had to produce92,000 tonnes of rock duringits contract period but it ex-tracted only 37,000 tonnes.For last two months, interest-ingly, GTC is producingaround 5,000 tonnes of rocksper day and earning Tk 40crore per month," aPetrobangla official said.

"Now GTC is showing its ca-pacity only to sign a long termfinal agreement with the gov-ernment," the official added.

Regarding its poor performance,GTC claimed that the relation-ship between the officials ofMGMCL and GTC deterioratedover various issues, which af-fected the production and sales.

"The government changeseight managing directors ofMGMCL in GTC tenure (in thelast five years) due to thiscause," the official added.

Tenure of Madhyapara HardRock Mine Contractor Extended

EP

39January 16, 2021

Beximco bought anadditional 3.5 croreshares for Tk 35

crore of its power-gener-ating subsidiary to bringthe total holding to 7.5crore shares, which is 75per cent of the company

Beximco is pinning greathopes on solar energy,with the company lastweek raising its stake inits subsidiary BeximcoPower, whose main focusis the clean energy.

The development comesat a time governmenthas set a target to pro-duce 10 per cent of itselectricity from renew-able sources by 2020.But it managed about 3per cent.

Beximco bought an ad-ditional 3.5 croreshares for Tk 35 croreof its power-generatingsubsidiary to bring thetotal holding to 7.5crore shares, which is75 per cent of thecompany.

The remaining 25 per-cent shares are heldjointly by ASF Rahman,Salman F Rahman, Naz-mul Hassan and OKChowdhury, according toa press release.

Beximco Power owns 80per cent of two solar gen-erating companies, TeestaSolar and Korotoa Solar,which have previouslyconcluded power pur-chase agreements with

the Bangladesh PowerDevelopment Board andan implementation agree-ment with the govern-ment for the supply of200MW and 30MWsolar-generated electricityfrom solar electricityplants to be established inGaibandha and Pancha-garh respectively.

The solar electricityplants will begin in2022 and therebymake significant con-tributions to both rev-enue and profitabilityof the listed company.

Technical partnersfrom China hold theremaining 20 per centof the stake in the twosolar companies.

Beximco Raises Stakes inBeximco Power

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and itslargest shareholder, Total S.E., an-

nounced a memorandum of understand-ing to create a 50/50 joint venture todevelop carbon-negative renewable nat-ural gas production facilities in theUnited States, as well as credit supportto build additional downstream fuelinginfrastructure.

Total will provide $50 million and CleanEnergy $30 million for the proposed jointventure and Total will be providing creditsupport of $65 million to support CleanEnergy development in the biomethanevalue chain, including $45 million forcontracted fueling infrastructure.

The companies have already partneredto expand the use of renewable naturalgas in the heavy-duty truck market withits Zero Now program, which allowsfleets to purchase natural gas trucks forthe same price as diesel trucks, accord-ing to Clean Energy.

The demand for biomethane has rapidlyaccelerated through the Zero Now pro-gram with trucking companies such asKenan Advantage, KeHE Distributors,Estes Express Lines, Tradelink Transport,among many others, taking advantage ofthe economic savings while poweringtheir new fleets with this clean fuel.

The California Air Resources Boardgives these carbon-negative renewablenatural gas projects a carbon intensity(CI) Score (gCO2e/MJ) of -250 (or lower)compared to 97 for diesel and 46 forelectric batteries.

“We are very fortunate to have a partner inTotal that is so supportive on a number oflevels,” said Andrew J. Littlefair, CEO andpresident of Clean Energy.

Total & CleanEnergy to BuildBiogas Plants

EPEP

40January 16, 2021

The German Government has con-firmed new renewables laws that

came into force on January 1.

The law amending the Renewable EnergySources Act and other energy regulationscontains the new framework conditionsfor the future expansion of renewable en-ergies in Germany.

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Alt-maier (pictured) said: "The EEG amend-ment 2021 will come into force onJanuary 1, 2021 as planned."This is a clear future signal for more cli-mate protection and more renewable en-ergies.

"The new EEG creates the framework withwhich we can achieve the goal of 65% re-newable energies by 2030 and green-house gas neutrality in the electricitysupply in Germany before the year 2050.

"The scope of the amendment aloneshows that this is a major and central stepfor the energy transition."

The law stipulates the speed at which theindividual technologies such as wind andphotovoltaics will be expanded in thenext few years so that the 65% target canbe achieved by 2030.

Furthermore, every year, a strict monitor-ing process will be used to check whetherrenewable energies are actually being ex-panded at the desired speed.

The new EEG 2021 also creates the instru-ments to be able to make adjustments atshort notice at any time if obstaclesemerge.

At the same time, the funding conditionsfor the individual energies will be re-reg-ulated.

Berlin ConfirmsNew Renewables

Laws

Prime Minister 's Energy AdviserTawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury has

asked the Sustainable and Renew-able Energy Development Authority(Sreda) to develop a guideline tomake the solar rooftop systems ef-fective.

He gave the directive while attend-ing a workshop titled "Scaling upNet Metered Rooftop Solar in thegarment industry," organized bySreda as the chief guest recently.

The directive came when the primeminister's energy adviser was reply-ing to a question regarding the inef-fectiveness of most of the rooftopsolar systems installed at domesticand commercial buildings.

Ear l ie r, on 25 December, a re-port t i t led "Rooftop solar panelsare now junks" was published inThe Bus iness S tandard, whichshowed that around 90% of thecountry 's roof top solar sys tems

are now non-funct ional .

Tawfiq-e-Elahi urged the industriesto come forward to set up solar sys-tems on their rooftops to increasethe country's green credentials at aglobal level.

The prime minister's energy adviseralso asked Sreda to set up ananonymous complaint box at its of-fice premises so that the customerscan file their complaints.

Md Habibur Rahman, secretary ofthe Power Division of the Ministryof the Power Energy and MineralResources, presided over the work-shop while Mohammad Alauddin,chairman of the SREDA moderatedthe program.

Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretaryof the Prime Minister 's Office,graced the program as the specialguest and talked about the benefitof the rooftop solar systems.

SREDA Asked for Guidelines toMake Rooftop Solar Systems

Effective

EPEP

41January 16, 2021

Sembcorp Energy India Limited (SEIL),a wholly owned subsidiary of Semb-

corp Industries, has won a bid for a new400 MW solar power project.

Through its renewables subsidiary, Sem-bcorp Green Infra, SEIL won this bid in aclosely contested auction conducted by

the Solar Energy Corporation of India(SECI).

SEIL has received the letter of award(LoA) from SECI to develop the project inRajasthan connected to the state’s trans-mission utility Rajasthan Rajya VidyutPrasaran Nigam Limited (RVPN). Theproject’s entire output will be sold toSECI under a 25-year long-term powerpurchase agreement.

Vipul Tuli, CEO South Asia, Sembcorp In-dustries said, "As a long-term player com-mitted to India’s energy transition, we arepleased to secure the 400 MW utility scalesolar project in Rajasthan. Sembcorp hasestablished a track record of deliveringworld-class power projects within time-lines. We are confident of delivering thisproject thanks to strong support from cen-tral and state government agencies andour business partners. India is a key marketfor Sembcorp, where we will continue tocontribute to the nation’s clean energymission. With this win, we have movedinto our next phase of growth.”

Sembcorp EnergyIndia 400 MW

Capacity PowerProject

The government is moving to savesolar mini-grids supplying green

energy in remote areas from incur-ring staggering losses and closure aspower distribution companies ex-pand operations in off-grid areas.

Power tariff from such mini-grids ismuch higher compared to grid-elec-tricity, an official at the Sustainableand Renewable Energy Develop-

ment Authority(SREDA) said, explain-ing that if the tariff fora 50-unit consumer ofgrid electricity is Tk3.75 per unit, it is Tk18-35 for a mini-gridconsumer.

Official sources said26 solar mini-gridshave so far been set upin different areas andtheir total general ca-pacity is about 5megawatts. They saidthe Power Division

primarily calculated the asset valueof these mini-grids at 1.09 billion(Tk 109 crore).

Sreda, the agency responsible forpromotion of green energy and en-ergy conservation, is likely to final-ize the modalities and other tariffrelated issues within a month to pur-chase electricity from solar mini-grids across the country.

Green Energy Gettinga Shot in the Arm

Japan International CooperationAgency (JICA) installed high capacity

solar panels at six educational institu-tions in different chars of Kamarjaniunion under Sadar upazila in the districtrecently to run their academic activitiessmoothly.

A discussion on solar panel distributionwas held on the premises of unionparishad (UP) with UP Chairman Abdus

Salam Jakir in the chair.

The speakers in theirspeeches thanked theJICA for standing besidethe chars academic insti-tutions with solar panelsto help the students runtheir academic activities.

Later, they distributedhigh capacity solar pan-els to the chiefs of the sixinstitutions.

Besides the solar panels, table, ceilingfans and lights were also distributed tothe chiefs of the academies that in-cluded Kunderpara Gana UnnayanAcademy, East Batikamari GovernmentPrimary School, Keblaganj GovernmentPrimary School, Nungola GovernmentPrimary School, Pardiara NuraniHafezia Madrasa and Kharjani Govern-ment Primary School.

JICA Installs Solar Panels in Six EdnInstitutions in Gaibandha

EP

EPEP

42

Climate

January 16, 2021

Elon Musk-owned electriccar maker Tesla delivered

499,550 vehicles in 2020,slightly missing its most recentguidance of 5,00,000 vehi-cles.

In the fourth quarter, Tesla de-livered 1,61,650 Model 3 andModel Y cars and produced1,63,660 such vehicles. Theautomaker also delivered18,920 Model S and X vehi-cles and produced 16,097 ofthem.

''In 2020, we produced anddelivered half a million vehi-cles, in line with our most re-cent guidance. In addition,Model Y production in Shang-hai has begun, with deliveriesexpected to begin shortly," thecompany said in a statementrecently.

The company achieved thefeat despite closing its newfactory in China as well as itsvehicle plant in Fremont, Cal-ifornia for several weeks as thenew coronavirus spread.

Musk also tweeted: "So proudof the Tesla team for achievingthis major milestone! At thestart of Tesla, I thought we had(optimistically) a 10% chanceof surviving at all".

Tesla delivered 88,400 vehi-cles in Q1, and 90,650 vehi-cles in Q2.

In October, Tesla said it deliv-ered 1,39,300 vehicles duringthe third quarter, slightly betterthan the 1,37,000 Wall Streethad expected.

Tesla Almost Touched 5 LakhVehicle Delivery Goal in 2020

The Bangladesh WaterDevelopment Board

(BWDB) has proposed amega project worthTk1,545.53 crore incorpo-rating multi-faceted goals,including tackling the ad-verse effects of climatechange and developing cur-rent socio-economic condi-tions.

The Development ProjectProposal (DPP) for the reha-bilitation of coastal Polder31 at Dacope upazila inKhulna district has alreadybeen submitted to the Min-istry of Water Resources.

WDB’s Polder 31, located atChalna union under Dacopeupazila, consists of manyimportant infrastructures, in-cluding the Mongla port, thesecond largest seaport in thecountry, also known as thelifeline of the south-west.

For the conservation and de-velopment of the much-im-portant Polder 31 area,

people's representativeshave sent letters to the Di-rector-General of BWDBand the Secretary of the Min-istry of Water Resources re-garding the protection of thedisaster-prone area from ero-sion and flooding.

In response, State Ministerfor Water Resources ZahidFaruk visited the area andrecommended a project out-line, including embankmentrehabilitation, embankmentconservation, riverbank pro-tection, drainage infrastruc-ture rehabilitation, canalre-excavation, river re-exca-vation and other necessaryworks for the rehabilitationof Polder 31.

Accordingly, Khulna WDBdrew up the project, entitled“Rehabilitation of CoastalPolder 31”, at a cost ofTk1,545.53 crore, which wassent to the Planning Commis-sion by the Ministry of WaterResources on July 26.

Megaproject to AddressClimate Change Impact

in Khulna

EPEP

The ten costliest weatherdisasters worldwide this

year saw insured damagesworth $150 billion, toppingthe figure for 2019 and re-flecting a long-term impact ofglobal warming, according toa recent report.

The same disasters claimed atleast 3,500 lives and dis-placed more than 13.5 mil-lion people.

From Australia's out-of-control wildfires in January toa record number of Atlantichurricanes through Novem-ber, the true cost of the year'sclimate-enhanced calamitieswas in fact far higher becausemost losses were uninsured.

Not surprisingly, the burden

fell disproportionately onpoor nations, according tothe annual tally from globalNGO Christian Aid, entitled"Count the cost of 2020: ayear of climate breakdown".

Only four percent of eco-nomic losses from climate-impacted extreme events inlow-income countries wereinsured, compared with 60percent in high-incomeeconomies, the report said,citing a study last month inThe Lancet.

"Whether floods in Asia, lo-custs in Africa, or storms inEurope and the Americas, cli-mate change has continuedto rage in 2020," said Chris-tian Aid's climate policy lead,Kat Kramer.

2020 Weather Disasters Boostedby Climate Change: Report

EP

Environment, Forests andClimate Change Minister

Mohammad Shahab Uddinrecently said the present gov-ernment has constantly striv-ing to control environmentalpollution, conserve biodiver-sity, plant trees and addressthe impacts of climatechange.

“To control air pollution, thegovernment has intensifiedsteps against illegal brickkilns, vehicles and factoriesand the active participationof the people is a must withall initiatives of the govern-ment to reach the control ofenvironmental pollution intodesired level,” he said.

“I seek media support to helpcreate public awareness on

overall envi-r onmen ta lp o l l u t i o ncontrol, in-cluding theuse of harm-ful materials,p o l y t h e n eand plastics.

Environmental protectioncan only be ensured with thejoint efforts of all,” he furthersaid.

The minister said this whilespeaking as the chief guest ata function at the NationalPress Club to mark 10thfounding anniversary of theonline newspaper ‘TheNews’.

He said, the media hasplayed a strong role in differ-ent critical juncture of the na-tion especially restoration ofdemocracy.

“The responsible role of thecountry’s media in stampingout corruption and irregular-ities is also commendable,”Shahab Uddin said.

Media Support Needed toProtect Environment

Carbon dioxide levels inthe atmosphere will

this year reach levels 50percent higher than beforethe industrial revolutionbecause of manmade emis-sions, Britain’s Met Officepredicted recently.

It forecasted the annual av-erage CO2 concentrationmeasured at the MaunaLoa Observatory in Hawaiiin 2021 will be around2.29 parts per million(ppm) higher than in 2020.

It said CO2 concentrationswill exceed 417 ppm atsome point between Apriland June – 50 percenthigher than the 278 ppmpresent in the late 18thcentury when the industrialera kicked off.

This is despite an unprece-dented fall in greenhousegas emissions in 2020 be-cause of the pandemic.

“Since CO2 stays in the at-mosphere for a very longtime, each year’s emissionsadd to those from previousyears and cause theamount of CO2 in the at-mosphere to keep increas-ing,” said Richard Betts,lead producer of the MetOffice’s annual CO2 fore-cast.

“Although the Covid-19pandemic meant that lessCO2 was emitted world-wide in 2020 than in previ-ous years, that still addedto the ongoing build up inthe atmosphere.”

Mauna Loa has been con-t i n u o u s l ymonitoring at-m o s p h e r i cCO2 levels –which fluctu-ate accordingto season butcontinue toclimb annu-ally – since1958.

CO2 Levels This Year 50pcHigher Than 18th Century

43

Climate

January 16, 2021

duce its net carbon emissionsby 70% by 2050.”

As per the Saudi renewableenergy strategy, the solar ob-jective for 2023 has beenraised from 5.9 GW to 20 GW,with the target for renewablesrevised up from 9.5 GW to27.3 GW.

Thompson continues: “It

makes sense that the world’sbiggest oil producers want tolead the transition into a cleanenergy future. As well as man-aging the declining role of oilas the world’s primary sourceof energy, the Gulf Coopera-tion Council (GCC) has someof the highest levels of carbondioxide emissions per capita.”

The decarbonization of theMiddle East economy is

moving rapidly up the region’sbusiness and investmentagenda, and there is no doubtthat it is set to reshape businessin the region in the comingdecades, says GlobalData’sMEED.

The Riyadh G20 Summit inNovember saw the world’sleaders endorse Saudi Arabia’scall for a circular carbon econ-omy built around the four R’s:

reduce, reuse, recycle and re-move.

Richard Thompson, EditorialDirector at GlobalData’sMEED, comments: “In seekingto create an integrated globalframework through which car-bon dioxide (CO2) emissionscan be managed, Riyadh ispositioning itself as a leadingplayer in the decarbonizationagenda. The UAE is also estab-lishing itself as a leader inclean energy, and aims to re-

Decarbonization Agenda Takes CenterStage in ME: GlobalData’s MEED

EP

EP

EP

44

Climate

January 16, 2021

The growing impacts of cli-mate change have al-

ready pushed more than 18million people to migratewithin South Asian countries,but that could more thantriple if global warming con-tinues on its current path, re-searchers warned recently.

Nearly 63 million peoplecould be forced from theirhomes by 2050 in the regionas rising seas and rivers swal-low villages, and drought-hitland no longer supportscrops, said ActionAid Inter-national and Climate ActionNetwork South Asia in a re-port.

The projection does not in-clude those who will beforced to flee sudden disas-ters such as floods and cy-clones and so is likely anunder-estimate, noted Har-jeet Singh, global climatelead at ActionAid. He saidthe situation could become"catastrophic".

Many will head from ruralareas to towns and cities intheir own countries, in searchof work, he said.

There they often end up liv-ing in slum areas exposed toflooding and with very lim-ited access to social services,doing precarious jobs such asrickshaw-pulling, construc-tion or garment-making.

"Policy makers in the GlobalNorth and the Global South

are not yet waking up to thisreality," Singh told the Thom-son Reuters Foundation."They are not realising thescale of the problem, andhow we are going to dealwith (it)."

He urged rich nations withhigh planet-warming emis-sions to redouble efforts to re-duce their carbon pollutionand provide more funding forSouth Asian countries to de-velop cleanly and adapt toconditions on a warmingplanet.

If governments meet a glob-ally agreed goal to limitwarming to below 2 degreesCelsius, the number of peo-ple driven to move in India,Bangladesh, Pakistan, SriLanka and Nepal could becut almost by half by 2050,the report said.

It builds on research pub-lished in 2018 by the WorldBank, which said uncheckedclimate change could causemore than 140 million peo-ple to move within theircountries' borders by 2050 insub-Saharan Africa, SouthAsia and Latin America.

The projections have finan-cial implications for countriessuch as India andBangladesh, where the poor-est people often lack themeans to move far from theiroriginal homes to safer placeswithout state support.

Climate Change Could Create 63mMigrants in South Asia by 2050

Amulti-stakeholder con-sortium with the goal

of accelerating the energytransition in Southeast Asiaby leveraging the strengthsof various national and in-ternational funders and in-stitutions has begun its firstfive-year implementationperiod as of 20 November2020.

The Energy TransitionPartnership (ETP), forwhich the United NationsOffice for Project Services(UNOPS) serves as fundmanager and secretariathost, was set up to helpSoutheast Asia deliver onthe goals of the ParisAgreement.

It will focus initially onIndonesia, The Philip-pines and Vietnam, sincethese countries have thehighest energy demand inthe region, as well as fos-sil fuel pipeline infra-structure and significantrenewable energy and en-ergy efficiency potential.In the longer term, morecountries in the regionwill benefit from its sup-port, says the group.The consortium states its

primary objectives to bestrengthening the policyand planning environ-ments for renewable en-ergy and energyefficiency in the region;increasing public and pri-vate investments into re-newable energy, energyefficiency measures andgrid upgrades; providingtechnical expertise forgrid planning and opera-tion, and fostering capac-ity and skillsdevelopment.

Members of the partner-

ship include: Agence

Française de Développe-

ment (French Develop-

ment Agency); Bloomberg

Philanthropies; Environ-

ment and Climate Change

Canada; the Children’sInvestment Fund Founda-

tion; Germany’s Federal

Ministry for the Environ-

ment, Nature Conserva-

tion and Nuclear Safety;

the High Tide Founda-

tion; and the UK’s De-

partment for Business,

Energy and Industrial

Strategy.

Consortium to Help Facilitate SEAsia’s Energy Transition

EP

EP

Bangladesh has achieved a lotin reducing carbon emissiondespite having no obligation

in this regard. The power sectorhas already been able to cut theemission by 7-8%. I think, wewill have to ensure advancedtechnologies in the power valuechain from generation to con-sumption levels, efficient use ofenergy and increasing renewableenergy to reduce the emission.Taking all these into considera-tion, we will have to obtain recog-nition in this regard. And, basedon that certified emission reduc-tion (CER), we will have to seekfunds from the international com-munity to accelerate reduction ofemission. The issues will alsohave to be presented clearly whileupdating the Nationally Deter-mined Contribution (NDC) to limitthe global temperature rise below2 degree Celsius.

Former secretary of the government Dr.Sultan Ahmed, who is also an energyand environment expert, made the ob-servation in an exclusive interviewwith Energy & Power Editor MollahAmzad Hossain.

One of the priorities of thePrime Minister Sheikh Hasina islow carbon development. Howdo you see the measures andtheir implementation towardsachieving the goal?

Bangladesh is not a carbon pollut-ing country and it has no obliga-tion to reduce it. But the country isunder various kinds of threat dueto the impact of climate change.Under the circumstances, thecountry has already adopted lowcarbon development policy andstarted its implementation. In fact,the Prime Minister has given high-est priority to sustainable develop-ment, which is SDG-7.

As part of the low carbon develop-ment path, the PM asked the au-thorities concerned to formulatethe upcoming Power System Mas-ter Plan (PSMP). Her government isstrictly following the low carbonpath from generation to distribu-tion in successfully achieving thetarget to ensure power for all by2021. She also asked for using ad-vanced technologies to ensure pol-lution-free generation of power.Following this path, Bangladeshhas even set up coal-based powerplant at Payra, but with using ultrasuper critical technology that hasde-sulfurization plant and low SOxburner. Similar technology is alsobeing used in Rampal and Matar-bari coal plants now under con-struction. Meanwhile, the oldsimple cycle gas based powerplants are being converted intocombined cycle ones to reducepollution and increase generationefficiency. We are also importing1,160MW of power from India. All

these measures are contributing toreduce carbon nationally. Besideswith a plan to generate 10% powerfrom renewables, Bangladesh isfollowing an energy efficiencyroadmap for ensuring efficient useof energy and power. It is expectedto help reduce household powerconsumption by 36%. The house-hold consumption of energy andpower contributes 38% of thecountry’s total carbon pollution.

Bangladesh is working on up-dating its NDC that had focused

Dr. Sultan Ahmed

Based on certified emission reduction(CER), we will have to seek funds from

the international community toaccelerate reduction of emission. Theissues will also have to be presented

clearly while updating the NationallyDetermined Contribution (NDC) to

limit the global temperature rise below20 Celsius.

45

Interview

January 16, 2021

Seek Int’l Finance to CutEmission Based on CER

on reducing emission fromtransport, power, energy and in-dustry sectors. It had no com-mitment to reduce pollution inthe agriculture sector. To whatextent the country could controlthe emission so far as targetedin the NDC? What issues shouldget priority in the updated NDCwhich will be submitted to theUNFCCC?

A proper progress report should beincluded with adequate narrativesin the updated NDC. We haveachieved more than that of thecommitted 5% - we could reduce7-8% of emission in the power sec-tor. So, we could set a target to re-duce emission by 18% until 2030in the updated NDC. Bangladesh isalso working on finalizing aroadmap to implement the up-dated NDC now being formulated.

The country is working on agricul-ture as it is trying to go for alter-native wetting and drying (AWD)of crop land instead of flooded ir-rigation. Out of the country ’s 30ecological zones, 11 are clusterzones. There is a scope to useAWD in 10 of the clusters. Itwould facilitate reduction ofmethane pollution without affect-ing production. On the otherhand, massive works are going onin the transportation sector to re-duce the pollution as the speed oftransports would be accelerateddue to metro rail, elevated ex-pressway and Padma Bridge.Meanwhile, the government hasalready restricted marketing offuel oil containing high level ofsulfur content under a clean fuelmaster plan. The country wouldalso go for advanced technologyas far as engines are concerned.

All these issues should be high-lighted in the updated NDC.

At a recent virtual discussion,you stressed on making specificwhere Bangladesh needs assis-tance to reduce GHG emissionby 10% more. How it can bedone?

It should be made clear that whatwe did so far and what we aredoing now in specific sectors liketransportation, power and energysectors. For example, we havebeen able to generate 700MW of

power from renewables against atarget to bring 4,200MW. In thiscase, we can seek investment fromthe world community to generate50% of the target. The main thingis we will have to convey that weare reducing the emission and youthe world community provide uswith investment.

The main problem in this case isthat the financiers want to knowabout the capability to utilize thefund and its transparency. But itwould not have been possible for

Bangladesh to achieve economicgrowth at around 8.0% if there islack of transparency and capabilityto spend money. We should di-rectly seek unconditional invest-ment for our emission controlinitiatives.

The generation cost of coal-andgas-based power went up signif-icantly due to using advancedtechnologies in the process. Doyou think we have the scope todemand carbon benefit?

We should demand financingbased on the Certified EmissionReduction (CER) status we haveachieved so far in the three sec-tors. At the same time, we shouldstrengthen our lobbying capacity.

An integrated development inthe generation, transmissionand distribution segments mustbe ensured for low carbongrowth of the power sector.Where do we stand in this re-gard?

We will have to automate thewhole power system and go forsmart grid to reduce the systemloss and enhance operational effi-ciency. It would help save use ofelectricity and reduce pollution.

What do you think about nu-clear as the low carbon powergeneration option?

There is no debate that nucleargenerates non-carbonized power.However, many countries, includ-ing Germany, do not agree that itis environment-friendly consider-ing its safety risks. I had the oppor-tunty to know that the world’ssafest nuclear power plant is beingset up at Rooppur as I was in-volved in the process of issuingNOC for the plant.

46January 16, 2021

Bangladesh has even set upcoal­based power plant at

Payra, but with using ultrasuper critical technologythat has de­sulfurization

plant and low SOx burner.Similar technology is alsobeing used in Rampal andMatarbari coal plants nowunder construction. Mean­while, the old simple cyclegas based power plants arebeing converted into com­bined cycle ones to reduce

pollution and increase gen­eration efficiency.

EP