Category: Energy and Power

The government has released Tk6,000 crore to boost electricity generation from oil-fi red power plants and clear outstanding dues to private power producers, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit said.

The funds will be released in two instalments and mainly used to settle payments to private power producers, enabling them to purchase fuel and operate their plants more effi ciently.

The government plans to increase oil-fi red power generation by at least 5,000MW to reduce loadshedding and ease pressure on gas-fi red plants.

Offi cials estimate that returning oilfi red plants to full operation could add around 2,500MW to the national grid.

The initiative is also aimed at freeing up gas for industrial consumers by shifting more power generation to fuel oil.

Oilfi red generation currently costs around Tk120 crore a day, and fuel oil purchases will be increased to support higher output.

Bangladeshi company Ecolet (Pvt.) Ltd will invest US$15.91 million to establish an LED products manufacturing plant at the BEPZA Economic Zone in Mirsharai, Chattogram.

The company will produce around 6 million LED bulbs, lamps and decorative lights annually for export to the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Middle Eastern markets.

The project is expected to create jobs for 306 Bangladeshi nationals.

An agreement was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and Ecolet on August 27 in Dhaka.

Md Tanvir Hossain, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA, and Ecolet Managing Director Mohammad Soliman signed the agreement.

BEPZA Executive Chairman Major General Mohammad Moazzem Hossain said the investment would support the authority’s efforts to diversify Bangladesh’s export basket by promoting technology-oriented electrical and electronics manufacturing alongside traditional export sectors.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has apologized to people and industries suffering from the country’s ongoing electricity and fuel shortages, acknowledging the energy crisis as the government’s biggest immediate challenge.

‘We apologies on behalf of the party to all those, including ordinary people and factory owners, who are suffering from electricity and fuel shortages,’ he said recently, while addressing a discussion marking the 48th founding anniversary of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in Dhaka.

Tarique said his government had inherited a fragile economy and weaknesses in several sectors, including energy.

He acknowledged that many people were facing diffi culties but said the government was not using the inherited problems merely as an excuse.

He said the government had already adopted an action plan to address the energy crisis, although its implementation would take time.

The plan is also being designed to protect Bangladesh from similar energy disruptions arising from future global crises.

Additional Secretary Dr Rafi qul Islam has been appointed Chairman of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), replacing the vacant position that remained unfi lled for nearly two months.

An order appointing Dr Rafi qul Islam as BPC Chairman was issued on September 6.

Before the appointment, Dr Rafi qul Islam served as a member of the Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council.

The position became vacant after BPC Chairman Engineer Rezanur Rahman was removed from his post nearly two months ago.

Severe fl ooding in Nepal’s Bhotekoshi river system has effectively halted electricity exports to Bangladesh, with Nepal’s overall power exports falling sharply after several hydropower plants were damaged.

Nepal normally exports around 1,000MW during the wet season, but exports have dropped to about 650MW following the August 26 fl oods.

The 22.1MW Chilime and 24MW Trishuli hydropower projects, which supply electricity to Bangladesh through India, have been damaged and remain offl ine.

The Nepal Electricity Authority said it has asked India to allow electricity from alternative projects to be supplied to Bangladesh.

It is also working to restore damaged generation and transmission infrastructure.

Singapore-based energy traders Trafi gura Pte Ltd and Vitol Asia Pte Ltd have submitted offers to supply fuel oil to Bangladesh b e t w e e n September and December under an international competitive tender.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase, at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on 9 September, directed offi cials to negotiate with the two companies on premiums and reference prices and place the revised offers before the committee at its next meeting.

According to the proposals placed before the committee, Trafi gura has offered to supply 220,000250,000 tonnes of diesel and 50,000 tonnes of Jet A-1 fuel at a proposed total cost of Tk4,803 crore.

Vitol Asia, meanwhile, has offered to supply 200,000230,000 tonnes of diesel and 40,000 tonnes of Jet A-1 at a proposed cost of Tk4,326 crore.

The average price of diesel in the United States reached a record $5.90 per gallon on September 7, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), as supply disruptions linked to the confl ict with Iran pushed fuel prices higher.

The price was about 30 cents higher than a week earlier and signifi cantly above the $3.71 average recorded a year ago.

Rising diesel costs are putting pressure on trucking, agriculture and construction, with businesses potentially passing higher transport costs on to consumers.

The national average for regular gasoline also climbed to around $4.15 a gallon on September 7, up from about $3.20 a year earlier.

Meanwhile, US diesel prices continued to rise, surpassing $6 a gallon nationally by September 10, according to GasBuddy

Battery-operated three-wheelers, commonly known as auto-rickshaws and easy bikes, have become a widespread mode of public transport across Bangladesh.

These provide an affordable commuting option for millions of citizens, while serving as a vital source of livelihood for drivers and garage operators.

However, their rapid expansion without structured regulatory oversight has introduced severe strain on the country’s electrical grid and public infrastructure, including the environment.

An estimated 5-8 million such vehicles currently operating nationwide consume roughly 5% or more of Bangladesh’s total daily electricity generation.

The three-wheelers mostly use deep-cycle lead-acid batteries.

Most of these vehicles use valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) types, while very few newer models and upgrades use lithium-ion alternatives.

The vast majority of the estimated 4-6 million threewheelers run on lead-acid battery packs, which are typically 48-volt or 60-volt systems.

Emerging options and modern upgrades utilize lithium-ion packs offering a longer lifespan and faster charging times.

However, lithium-ion options epresent a smaller market share due to high prices.

Leadacid batteries generally last 12-24 months, whereas lithiumion alternatives can last 3-5 years with proper maintenance.

Drivers frequently purchase trusted domestic and foreign brands like Hamko, Eastern, Rimso, Rahimafrooz, and Kijo.

In Bangladesh, the three-wheelers do not use a single large 48-volt or 60-volt battery unit.

Instead, these run on a series connection of standard 12-volt lead-acid batteries.

A typical deep-cycle tubular or VRLA battery (also known as a sealed lead-acid (SLA) battery) used in these three-wheelers (at 100130 ampere-hour capacity) weighs approximately 30-38 kg per 12-volt unit.

In standard lead-acid batteries, pure metallic lead and lead compounds account for about 60-65% of the total battery weight (with the rest being electrolyte liquid and plastic casings).

Used lead-acid batteries in Bangladesh rarely go to formal landfi lls because lead holds high commercial value.

Instead, informal scrap dealers buy these old batteries, smash the plastic casings, open and dump the toxic sulfuric acid directly onto surrounding soil and into local water bodies.

They then melt the lead plates over open-fi re pits without any safety equipment or pollution fi lters.

According to reports by the Daily Star, Bangladesh generates nearly 4,80,000 tons of lead-acid battery waste every year, with these threewheelers accounting for over 60% of this local battery demand.

The Daily Star further notes that around 80% of used lead-acid batteries in the country are processed through over 1,100 informal recycling sites, discharging millions of liters of untreated acid solution into rivers, canals and farmland.

As documented in studies by Pure Earth and UNICEF, this uncontrolled recycling network releases vast amounts of lead into the environment, leaving approximately 36 million children in Bangladesh (about 60% of children) with elevated blood lead levels and causing severe environmental and long-term public health damage.

A full battery recharge takes approximately 6-8 hours using standard chargers.

Millions of these vehicles rely heavily on informal or illegal grid connections for overnight charging.

This practice draws thousands of megawatts of electricity and places signifi cant stress on the national power grid.

To understand the energy scale required, each individual batteryoperated three-wheeler consumes approximately 5-8 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per daily charging cycle- depending on battery age, depth of discharge, and vehicle capacity.

Consequently, a baseline fl eet of 5 million three-wheelers requires between 25,000-40,000 megawatthours of electricity every single day.

Thousands of these vehicles undergo charging simultaneously during overnight hours, creating a sharp demand spike that heavily burdens local transformers and distribution lines.

Ultimately, this practice leads to frequent voltage fl uctuations and localized power outages.

The root of this grid instability lies in the vast gap between formal infrastructure and actual demand.

Bangladesh currently has only about 3,300 legally registered charging points.

In contrast, Dhaka alone hosts over 48,000 informal and unauthorized charging hubs operating out of residential garages and makeshift workshops.

These uncontrolled networks rely heavily on illegal direct line connections, causing signifi cant energy theft that deprives the Government of nearly Tk 4,000 crore in annual revenue.

Furthermore, the majority of auto-rickshaws use low-grade lead-acid batteries and ineffi cient charging equipment that dissipate signifi cant amounts of electricity as waste heat, worsening the strain on the national power supply.

Beyond energy consumption, the informal nature of this sector poses environmental, public health, traffi c, and urban management challenges.

Unregulated battery disposal and improper lead recycling contaminate local soil and water, exposing workers and communities to toxic heavy metals.

At the same time, smart traffi c cameras cannot track or enforce traffi c laws due to a lack of offi cial registration and standard license plates.

Addressing the impact of batteryoperated three-wheelers requires a balanced strategy that preserves social benefi ts while protecting both the power sector and the environment.

Establishing a formal policy framework to register every vehicle with traceable identifi cation, alongside replacing illegal power hookups with designated solar-assisted or off-peak commercial charging stations, would substantially shield the grid.

Transitioning the fl eet from lead-acid batteries to energyeffi cient lithium-ion technology would further optimize power use and eliminate illegal lead smelting and acid dumping while protecting soil, water, and public health.

Through coordinated regulation, modernized charging networks, and technological upgrades, Bangladesh can convert these essential utility vehicles into a sustainable component of its national transport ecosystem without compromising energy security and the environmen

A technical problem with a valve has delayed the target to supply around 300MW of electricity from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant to Bangladesh’s national grid, Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam said.

Fuel loading at the plant began on April 28, with the government initially expecting power generation within four to six months.

However, one of the plant’s valves has failed to open at the required pressure, preventing the project from advancing to the next critical stage.

The minister said Russian and Bangladeshi scientists are working to resolve the problem.

Removing, repairing, reinstalling and testing the valve could take one to one and a half months, he said.

He added that Rosatom has assured Bangladesh it will send additional teams of specialists to identify and resolve the problem

A prolonged shortage of piped gas in parts of Dhaka has triggered a sharp rise in demand for electric cooking appliances as households seek alternatives to unreliable gas supplies.

The crisis began on July 22 after disruptions involving fl oating storage and regasifi cation units (FSRUs) cut liquefi ed natural gas supplies to the national grid by around 450 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD), or nearly 17 percent.

Although supplies have improved in some areas, daytime gas pressure remains inadequate in many households.

The disruption has boosted sales of infrared and rice cookers in particular.

Industry players estimate Bangladesh’s annual electric cooker market at less than Tk200 crore.

RFL Chief Marketing Offi cer Murshid Muneem said demand for infrared cookers had more than doubled year-on-year, while rice cooker sales had increased by around 200-300 percent.