Category: Energy and Power

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) recently approved a series of import proposals, including the purchase of one cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market and fertilizer imports for a total of Tk 2,000 crore. LNG will be purchased from TotalEnergies Gas and Power Ltd, United Kingdom, according to a proposal by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division placed at the meeting.

The cargo is priced at Tk 485 crore at a unit rate of $11.54 per MMBtu.

The government has reduced the price of LPG by Tk 0.25 per kg for September as international raw material costs stayed flat, according to the Bangladesh Energy R e g u l a t o r y Commission (BERC).

The price of LPG was set at Tk 105.87 per kg, down from Tk 106.11.

Accordingly, a 12kg cylinder – the most popular form – will now sell for Tk 1,270 instead of Tk 1,273.

A 15kg cylinder will sell for Tk 1,588, a 20kg cylinder for Tk 2,117, a 25kg cylinder for Tk 2,647, a 35kg cylinder for Tk 3,705, and a 45kg cylinder for Tk 4,764.

The price of reticulated LNG for homes has been set at Tk 102.12 per kg, while the Autogas price has been set at Tk 58.15 per liter.

Marina Tabassum, e m i n e n t architect, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh National Museum, and Chief Consultant of the July Uprising Museum, has become the first Bangladeshi to win the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture this time for her innovative climate-resilient housing project, ‘Khudi Bari’ or climate-adaptive ‘Little House’. Designed to be lightweight and mobile, a Khudi Bari home can be built in three days and dismantled in just three hours, offering flexibility for families in vulnerable areas.

The Kudi Bari project gained momentum after 2022 with funding from the Swiss Development Corporation.

Tabassum initially tested the structures in Dhaka before expanding implementation to flood-prone districts, including Chandpur, Sunamganj, Jamalpur, Kurigram, and Meghna Char.

Power generation at the 1,105-megawatt (MW) Ghorashal Thermal Power Plant in Narsingdi has remained suspended for around two and a half months due to multiple factors, including an ongoing gas crisis, according to its Chief Engineer Enamul Haque. Citing theprolongedshortage,he said production stopped at three major units this June — Unit-5 (210 MW) on June 9, Unit-4 (360 MW) on June 13, and Unit-7(360MW)onJune14.

The government has diverted gassupply tofertilizerfactories, prompting the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resourcestorequestalternative supplyarrangementsforpower generation.

Enamul Haque said that Units 4, 5 and 7 are mechanically sound and could resume operation immediately once gas becomes available.

Earlierin June,Unit-3 (360MW) went offline afteritsturbine rotor blades were damaged.

Repair work is now in the final stage and the unit will also resume generation once gas supply is ensured.

Energy experts and environmental advocates have cautioned that Bangladesh’s growing reliance on imported fossil fuels and unchecked expansion of coal and LNGbased projects are threatening both economic stability and the ecosystem.

Speaking at an interactive session titled “Energy Expansion: Impact on Bangladesh’s Economy, Ecosystem and Fair Transition” held at Premier University in Chattogram recently, they also called for a swift transition to renewable sources.

The event was jointly organized by Dhara (Protect the Earth), Premier University, 350.org, and Waterkeepers Bangladesh, with the participation of youth climate activists, students, researchers, and civil society representatives.

Shafiqul Alam, lead analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said Bangladesh’s energy mix remains highly vulnerable. “Around40%ofourtotal energy supply and over half of our electricity generation depend on imports. Yet, only 2% comes from renewable sources,” he said.

He added that Bangladesh’s global ranking in energy security, equity, and sustainability has slipped to 83rd, down from 77th two years ago.

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works has taken disciplinary action against two officials of the public works department over abnormal expenses in the Rooppur Green City project in Pabna. Deputy assistant engineer Md Shahin Uddin has been compulsorily retired, while deputy assistant engineer Md Alamgir Hossain has been demoted to a lower pay grade, following findings of the investigations by the ministry and PWD, according to a Press Information Department handout, issued recently.

The probe, conducted over allegations of inflated costs in purchasing and installing furniture for the 16th and 20th floor buildings of the project in 2019, found both engineers guilty of misconduct under government service rules.

The aforesaid capital punishments were given in separate orders, signed by Md Nazrul Islam, secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, on the order of the president.

Electricity is no longer a luxury in rural Bangladesh.

It lights up homes after sunset, powers irrigation pumps, and keeps small businesses alive.

For millions of families, it means children can study at night and farmers can run their machines. Yet this lifeline is now caught in a damaging power struggle between the Rural Electrification Board (REB) and the Palli Bidyut Samities (PBSs). What began as disputes over rank parity, procurement, and governance has spiraled into strikes, dismissals, and sedition charges.

In the process, ordinary villagers the very people this system was built to serve are left anxious about whether their lights will stay on.

Mothers worry about losing refrigeration for food, students about studying in the dark, and shopkeepers about keeping their businesses open. PBS employees feel sidelined and unfairly treated, while REB insists it has followed due process.

But finger-pointing cannot deliver electricity.

Rural Bangladesh deserves better than being held hostage to bureaucratic rivalries and political indecision.

The solution must start with empathy and fairness: dropped cases, reinstated staff, and genuine dialogue to restore trust.

The contentious merger debate can wait.

For now, the priority is ensuring uninterrupted service and treating frontline workers with dignity.

Rural electrification has been one of Bangladesh’s proudest development stories.

Allowing it to falter because of institutional ego would be a betrayal of the people who rely on it most.

It is time for leaders to step up before darkness returns to the villages.

Bangladesh needs $30 billion annually to tackle climate change impact, but bringing just $1-$2 billion from the IMF feels like an exhausting struggle, said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed recently. Negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forsecuring $5 billion will begin soon, he added when speaking at the inauguration of a training session titled ‘Navigating Climate Finance: Media Reporting’ held at PKSF auditoriuminAgargaon,Dhaka.

The Economic Relations Division and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) jointly organized the event.

The adviser said Bangladesh is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change due to its geography, frequent natural disasters, and large populations living on the margins in areas like Patuakhali and Shyamnagar.

Most of the crises here are man-made, he noted, adding that globally ‘we talk endlessly about climate change, but act too little.’ Against this omnipresent lethargy, Bangladesh stands as a crucial exampleofresilience and community-driven response, Salehuddin said.

Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) has urged the government to convert Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation’s (BPC) Tk 274.20 billion worth of outstanding debt into subsidies.

The state-run BPC owes such accumulated debt to the government on account of its losses because of selling petroleum products at lowerthan-procurement prices.

The EMRD in a recent letter sought the Finance Ministry’s necessary steps in this connection, according to officials. When contacted, a senior BPC official said, “EMR division has already made an appeal to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for taking necessary steps so that the BPC gets rid of its debt burden.” Officials at the MoF said they will scrutinize the EMRD’s plea for converting the BPC’s outstanding debts into subsidy.

They, however, said it will take some time to make a decision on the issue.

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan has said Bangladesh is facing a severe gas crisis due to dwindling domestic gas reserves and has planned to import an increased amount of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). “To mitigate the persistent gas shortage, the government will import more LNG cargoes than last year. Last year, we imported 84 LNG cargoes, but this year we will bring 20 additional cargoes, taking the number to 104 to give relief to the industry and other sectors,” he said on 27 August.

He was addressing a webinar titled “4th State of Investment ClimateBangladesh”, organized by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida).

Bida Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun moderated the program.

Acknowledging the 1,000 mmcf daily gas shortage, the energy adviser said the previous government didn’t take any initiatives to explore local gas sources.