Bangladesh Power Panorama: Booming economy and possibilities of cross border power trade
Perceived to be a middle income country Bangladesh has set a vision to boost the electricity generation capacity up to 24,000 MW by 2021. A decade ago only 50% of Bangladeshis had access to electricity but today more than 80% have it. Underlining the impressive progress made by government of Bangladesh in providing power to all its citizens, which it aims to do it by 2021. As a result of this successful implementation, in the last 8 years, and specially since 2014, new records have been made in terms of power generation, infrastructure development, transmission and distribution line expansion, ensuring access to electricity, exploring and using a range of resource, alternative channels and new innovations. If we look at the current energy mix, 72% is coming from gas based power plant which is considering a major drawback right now. Natural Gas production is going through a turbulent situation recently, resulting a huge shortage both in industrial and domestic consumption. UN-interrupted gas supply is a must for the power plants to remain active in order to reduce the supply-demand gap. However, gas shortage is a buzzing issue, as government could not add new gas field in last decade unless the expanding of existing fields. According to power-cell, the think tank of power sector, Bangladesh energy mix will experience a major shift from gas to coal and nuclear. In the meantime, Bangladesh government is checking the feasibility to import electricity from our neighboring country such as India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. As of today Bangladesh import 600MW of electricity from India as we have only 16 TCF proven reserve which will be ended in next five years. Energy diversification is the next big challenge in the competitive landscape for Bangladesh to become the Asian tiger. So the following table will show how the gas shortage can affect our economic growth, and why it is important to look for the feasible solution of power trade in the south Asian region.
Private sector owns close to 45% of the energy mix in the currently scenario and power import from India holds the third position in it, started from 2013 with a bilateral MoU between Bangladesh and India. State minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid MP says, “Since the scenario of the global energy sector is changing, Bangladesh needs to ensure energy security amid its limited resources”. According to the Power sector master plan (PSMP 2010), government aims to add 900 MW of electricity by 2021 in the national grid, and 3500 MW by 2030. This probable power generation can meet the base demand both in the northern and southern region of Bangladesh, also the probable locations are finalized to build the transmission line in several districts. At present 600MW of power is coming through Bheramara-Baharampur interconnection back-to-back HVDC line (phase 1). The transmission line is 115 KM long, where 85 KM is in Indian part and 30 KM is in Bangladesh part. Phase 2 is in planning stage, where more 500MW of power will be added in this line. The state-owned Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Ltd (PGCB) is currently building this second such sub-station at the same site, which will be in generation by 2018.
Planned projects in pipeline under cross boarder power trade, currently Bangladesh government is considering some potential candidates and companies. First, Indian Meghalaya state is sorted for potential hydro-power plant project. The state has 2000m of hilly area adjacent to the northeast part of Bangladesh, but the new transmission line for the interconnection will be difficult due to geographical factors. Second, Indian Tripura state, recently large-scale natural gas has been discovered in Tripura, which is also adjacent to east Bangladesh, Pallantana gas power project is planned to generate 750MW but considering the power shortage in home country, India will consume the majority of it. Third, Indian Assam state, there is potential of coal and hydro-power plant, but long transmission line need to be built in order to import power in our national grid. Forth, Bhutan and Nepal, as these high altitude country have huge potential to generate hydro-power, several proposals are in planning stage to go for possible collaboration. Fifth, Myanmar can be an option, but the initial diplomatic talk has not stated yet due to Rohinga crisis.
South Asian countries should engage more in cross border power trade by exploring the largely untapped resources which will not only lighten the region but also improve the people’s standard of living. Industrial diversification and advancement are essential in order to achieve further economic development in Bangladesh. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the prime minister’s adviser on power, energy and mineral resources, invited foreign entrepreneurs to invest in our power projects in an event last year. Un-interrupted power supply becomes the necessity for our booming economy. But cross broader trade needs huge investment to import from Bhutan and Nepal. Bhutan and Nepal are very small country, their economy is highly depended on tourism only, in that case foreign direct investment will be needed to finance these mega power project. Additionally, we need to build approximately 1500KM long transmission line, transmission line to access electricity from this power plant. The biggest drawback or the challenge is that the maximum portion of transmission lines will pass through India. So, eventually Bangladesh need to start the diplomatic negotiation to initiate this mega projects. On the other hand, proper framework is needed for a smooth investment, otherwise this power projects will remain only in blue print in our master plan.
