Category: Energy and Power

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.

Rooppur nuclear power plant is a prestigious project of Bangladesh, which has become a member of the elite club of nuclear electricity producers.

The plant is situated at Ishwardi in the district of Pabna, on the river Padma, which flows lean in the dry season and is full and turbulent in the Monsoon.

The plant consists of two units, each with a 1,200 MW Russian reactor model VVER-1200, for a total capacity of 2,400 MW.

Both units are under construction, and one of them has started pre-commissioning tests.

It is a turnkey project under Russian credit, and ROSATOM, a state-owned company of Russia, is taking care of the design, supply, installation, and commissioning.

The VVER-1200 model has been designed for cold countries like Russia, where cooling water below 20°C is naturally available at sea, lakes, and rivers.

The nominal capacity of 1,200 MW is based on cold weather conditions.

Bangladesh is a hot country, and so the capacity will be reduced.

Effect of hot weather in Bangladesh The ambient temperature in Ishwardi reaches 40°C during the peak summer.

The river water temperature also becomes very hot.

The cooling water temperature after evaporative cooling in cooling towers will be 32°C, and that at the condenser inlet will be 33°C, which is 15°C higher than the design temperature of 18°C.

As a result, the turbine will miss the output involved in this 15-degree range.

The plant will not be able to reach the nominal capacity.

A research paper states that capacity will decrease by 0.444% for a 1-degree increase in water temperature.

Thus, for hot weather, each unit of the Rooppur power plant will be de-rated by about 80 MW.

Borrowing of electricity from the national grid Unlike conventional nuclear power plants, the VVER-1200 cannot drive its auxiliaries by bleeding its own steam.

It has to borrow electricity from an external source.

There are huge water pumps and powerful motor-driven valves in the primary and secondary loops.

Additionally, the circuit contains numerous control unit assembly drives, ventilation units, and pumps, all of which require electrical power.

To run auxiliary drives, the plant will draw 120 MW from the grid, and the generated power will be adjusted accordingly. Power required for electric preheaters There are many pre-heaters in water and steam circuits.

They are all electric heaters instead of their own steam-heated heaters.

They will require huge amounts of electrical power, which will also come from an external source.

The power requirement will be around 10 MW. Power required by the fans of cooling towers The Rooppur power plant will utilize forced draft cooling towers to enhance evaporative cooling, producing cold water for the steam condenser.

Highpower draft fans are installed around the perimeter of the towers at the base.

The fans are an additional requirement for a plant in a cold country.

The fans will require approximately 12 MW of electrical power (0.1% of the nominal capacity), which the national grid will also supply.

Summation Rooppur power plant with a total capacity of 2,400 MW will be de-rated to about 1,960 MW (for hot weather, 160 MW, and for refund of borrowed electricity, 280 MW).

It will not be a surprise if the plant’s average output drops to 1,500 MW.

The situation will be a disappointment as the original levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) will no longer be valid.

The cost recovery plan of the project will be in jeopardy. Conclusion The VVER-1200, a high-capacity plant, faces a substantial reduction in capacity and is not cost-effective for Bangladesh.

Smaller plants, with a nominal capacity of around 500 MW that reject steam at temperatures above 50°C, will be a better choice for Bangladesh’s future expansion program, if any.

In that case, the steam can be condensed using naturally available water from a river or sea.

The plants shall be able to bleed steam to power the auxiliary drives, rather than relying on an external source for power.

Awoman and her daughter died after being electrocuted after a live wire of a water pump came in contact with the floodwater in front of their house in Fatullah upazila of Narayanganj recently, police said.

The victims are Rokhsana Parvin, 50, of Sheharchar, and her daughter Lamia Akhter, 24.

The incident took place in the Sheharchar area, said Fatullah Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shariful Islam.

Family members said Lamia was a third-year student of Narayanganj’s Government Tolaram College.

Sub-Inspector Kazi Abul Bashar of Fatullah Police Station said waterlogging is a common problem in the area during the rainy season.

The family had installed an electric pump to drain the floodwater.

Bangladesh’s first nuclear power facility at Rooppur has demonstrated a strong commitment to operational safety, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review team that concluded its mission on 27 August.

The Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART) visit, conducted at Dhaka’s request, assessed Unit 1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) ahead of its commercial launch, the IAEA said in a statement.

Such missions benchmark nuclear facilities against global safety standards before they begin loading fuel. Located in Pabna on the banks of the Padma River, the twinunit plant will add 2,400 MW(e) to Bangladesh’s grid once both Russian-built VVER1200 reactors are operational.

Unit 1 construction began in 2017, followed by Unit 2 in 2018.