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http://www.daily-sun.com/post/338315/2018/09/24/Chinese-companies-urged-to-tap-216-bn-investment-potentials-in-power-
Government officials at a workshop in the city urged the Chinese investors to invest in the country’s power sector.



“The country needs on an average $9 billion in power sector each year up to 2041” said Rahmat Ullah Mohd Dastagir, additional secretary of the Power Division, while making his presentation at the workshop on Bangladesh -China power cooperation at a city hotel.


The Chinese Embassy in Dhaka organised the workshop titled: “Bangladesh Power Development and Cooperation between Bangladesh and China” with Chinese Economic and Commercial Counsellor in Dhaka Li Guangjun in the chair.



Officials of different Chinese companies willing to invest in Bangladesh and officials of Power Division and its subordinate entities in power sector attended the workshop to share experiences and learn about the investment procedures in Bangladesh.



Joint secretary of the Power Division Mohammad Alauddin also spoke on the occasion.


Dastagir said there is a total $216 billion investment potential in power sector up to 2041 as per the government plan.



Of the total amount, $150 billion investment is required for power generation, $31 billion for transmission and $35 billion for distribution, he added.



He also said that Bangladesh is keenly interested to import hydro electricity from China as it plans to import electricity from neighbouring countries like India, Nepal and Bhutan.



He mentioned that a Chinese company has already offered to export power from Kunming of China through Myanmar.



“We want the company should work on the issue as Myanmar is involved in the plan”, he said adding that the proposal says some 4000 MW of electricity will be supplied from China of which Bangladesh will get 3000 MW while Myanmar will receive 1000 MW.



He said a conducive environment is prevailing in Bangladesh for foreign direct investment (FDI) in power sector as the government provides sovereign guarantee to the investors for their investment.



He also mentioned that the power sector investors get 15 years corporate tax holiday and also 10 year tax holiday for equipment import.



Mohammad Alauddin said renewable energy has been a very potential sector for Chinese investment that the country plans to generate 14,000 MW of renewable energy including solar, wind and other options.



He said the government has a commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (DSGs) which has determined ensuring peoples’ access to clean energy.



He also mentioned that recently introduced net metering policy in solar power created a huge opportunity for Chinese investors as local industries don’t have necessarily experience in the sector.



Chinese Embassy’s Economic and Commercial Counsellor Li Guangjun said that his country has achieved the highest development in power sector in

https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/no-frills/news/who-will-run-our-energy-sector-1638055
The latest edition of Energy & Power magazine has covered a very important aspect of the country's power and energy sector. The present government has undertaken massive projects to meet power generation progressively for 2021, 2030 and 2041. That vision envisages 60,000 megawatts (MW) power generation capacity by 2041, where coal-fired power plants will produce 22,000MW. While all the attention has been on the infrastructure development side, we are yet to see any meaningful roadmap for the development of human resources to man these huge projects.

If we look at just the coal aspect, the government will need to import 66 million tonnes of coal every year to generate 22,000MW. Given our recent experience of the mysterious circumstances under which approximately 140,000 tonnes of coal disappeared from Barapukuria coal mine and the subsequent chaos it caused, have we any idea about what will happen when we start taking in the millions of tonnes of coal that will be imported every year, in the coming decades? Some experts have voiced serious scepticism about the viability of setting up an import terminal in the coastal corridor and then using river routes to transport coal to power plants. We only have to look at the number of sunken vessels carrying on our rivers over the last year to get an idea about the dangers involved. What will happen when the traffic increases a thousand-fold?

Moving on to the actual power plants; every power company will have to develop a pool of highly trained and skilled manpower who will be involved in the entire supply chain (import of coal—transportation—handling of coal from port to power plant). Where is this pool of Bangladeshi technicians? Our educational institutions, particularly the universities that are offering courses are hopelessly outdated. The offered syllabi are often distant from the industrial requirements. Hence, the graduates from our universities are not able to fulfil the needs of the industry. In fact, it is not just the power or energy sector that is suffering from a mismatch between what is needed and what our graduates are being taught. All the major industrial sectors like the textile industry and apparel industry are run by foreigners. What a complete waste of financial resources! I have covered the story of the apparel/textile industry in an earlier article and there too it was pointed out that the government gets zero revenue as income tax while thousands of our graduates don't get these jobs because they are deemed to be unqualified to get the job done by industry.

This is something the policymakers need to ponder upon today and not 10 years down the line. Once contractors have finished building their plants, their experts will leave and we will be left high-and-dry with no option but to hire foreign experts. And if foreign consultants run the show, the administrative overhead will shoot thr

http://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/govt-drops-barapukuria-coal-import-plan-due-to-high-cost-1537762311
The government has abandoned the contingency coal import plan lingering the northern region's grapple with power woes.

Higher import costs and restart of coal extraction from the Barapukuria underground coalmine led the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to abandon the coal import plan, a senior BPDB official told the FE on Saturday.

As a consequence, he said, the Board has kept two of its expensive diesel-fired power plants -- Syedpur and Rangpur with 20 megawatt (MW) capacity each -- operational, defying the energy regulator's directive to shut such plants by June 2018.


Officials said that the Board sought price quotes from 13 selected global coal suppliers in August aiming to import around 1.0 million tonnes of coal on an emergency basis to generate electricity and offset the supply crunch in the northern region.

But the quoted coal prices by the suppliers were around US$ 200 per tonne, which is around 53 per cent higher than the Board's buying price of coal from the state-run Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (BCMCL).

The Board purchases coal from the Barapukuria mine at $ 130 per tonne for generating electricity at the Barapukuria thermal power plant.

Besides, the transportation of coal from the Mongla port to the Barapukuria power plant would pose a major challenge, said the official.

On the other hand, coal extraction from the Barapukuria underground coalmine was initiated again in September after months of shutdown.

"We have re-started coal extraction from a new slice a couple of weeks ago. We are now extracting around 3,600 tonnes of coal per day," BCMCL Managing Director Md Fazlur Rahman told the FE.

Electricity generation at the Barapukuria power plant also restarted partially with the newly-extracted coal.

But this coal would be sufficient to run only a 275MW capacity unit of the Barapukuria coal-fired power plant.

About 5,000 tonnes of coal are required to run the three units of the Barapukuria plant to generate around 525 MW of electricity, the Board official said.

People familiar with the situation said the electricity supply in the country's northern region suffered over the past couple of months as the Barapukuria thermal power plant having a total capacity of 525 MW underwent forced-closure due to the coal scarcity in the wake of a coal scam.

The 'missing' of around 142,000 tonnes of coal stock worth around Tk 2.27 billion from the mine's storage yard had forced suspension of operations of the Barapukuria power plant.

The BCMCL could detect this anomaly only in mid-July when it started measuring the overall coal stock on the yard.

The ministry of power, energy and mineral resources and state-run Petrobangla constituted two separate probe committees over the coal scam.

A case has been lodged against some mine officials over the incident.

The Anti Co

big late trades on Friday

hopefully they have the store format correct - need to make it a different shopping experience - if not -MA here we come
As Usual
DRORamping(TM)

https://www.devonlive.com/whats-on/whats-on-news/hard-times-exeter-sex-shop-1965000
A sex shop in Exeter city centre has just announced its sudden closure - and all of its kinky stock must go.

The Private Shop, which has been located on Fore Street for more than 30 years, will shut its entrance for good tomorrow (Tuesday, September 4)

The store manager Steve, who has worked at the adult shop for 31 years said he is sad to see the shop close and that it's the 'end of an era'.

The sex shop has launched a closing down sale and according to the signs in the window 'everything must go'.

http://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/views/meeting-challenges-of-sustainable-power-generation-1537199705
Absence of a coal policy. The Power Sector Master Plan envisages that 25 per cent-30 per cent of the electricity generation will come from domestic coal in the long run which is an issue to be addressed urgently. Though Bangladesh has large quantities of high quality proven coal reserves, absence of a coal policy restricts us from utilising domestic coal. It takes about 10 years to develop a new coal mine and start production. Consequently, coal production will begin in 2027 at the earliest even if it is decided now. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the required preparation as early as possible so that it could facilitate the maximum utilisation of the best quality domestic resources. Unfortunately, the production of Barapukuria coal mines in 2015 was 0.68 million tons and did not reach 1.0 million tons as planned. Nevertheless, the PSMP 2016 assumes that total domestic coal production will be 1.1 million tons and 5.7 million tons by 2020 and 2030 respectively.

Since there is no visible movement on domestic coal development, the government has decided to move first on coal-based power generation through imported coal. But coal import entails multiple investment and infrastructural challenges including the construction of one or more deep sea ports (which includes one in Matherbari), working through long-term contracts with foreign coal mining companies/suppliers of coal from abroad and internal shipment of coal to the power plants like Rampal.

The feasibility study for the Coal Transshipment Terminal (CTT) planned at Matherbari has been completed already. The first phase of the CTT will commence operation in 2025 which is planned to handle 10.4 tons per year. As the use of coal spreads, the fuel expense will be slashed, helping to curb increase in power generation costs.

http://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/335223/2018/09/11/Barapukuria-may-run-out-of-coal-in-3-years-
Barapukuria may run out of coal in 3 years
Shamim Jahangir 11 September, 2018 12:00 AM printer
Coal extraction in the country’s lone coalmine in Barapukuria might come to an end in three years due to the depleting coal reserve in the existing mining basin, sources said.

“We will be able to produce 24 lakh tonnes of coal in next three years. The deal with the mining firm will expire in August 2021,” a top official of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company told the told daily sun on condition of anonymity.

Coal extraction from Barapukuria will face a major setback after 2021 and the government will have to extract new coal seam to continue the production in the coalfield, said the official.
“It’s a high time take a decision on the expansion of Barapukuria coalfield,” he added.

Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL) managing director (MD) Md Fazlur Rahman said they are conducting a feasibility study on the expansion of coal basin in Barapukuria.

The feasibility study will help identify the viability of the extension of the existing underground mining operation towards the southern and the northern side of the basin within an area of 10 square kilometers.

“We will be getting the final report at the end of this month,” he said.

The existing coal deposit stretches over the area of 2.4 square kilometres.

With the expansion, Barapukuria is expected to extract around 10 million tonnes of coal from the southern part of the coal mine that may contain a reserve of 62 million tonnes of coal, sources said.
Initial findings from the feasibility study indicate that expansion towards the northern side will not be a viable though the site is near the existing mining operation site.

“We are seeing a prospect of only 4 million tonnes from the northern basin,” officials said.

Meanwhile, the mining authorities resumed coal extraction in Barapukuria last Saturday aiming to feed its 525MW coal-based power plant.

BCMCL managing director Md Fazlur Rahman said they are expecting to produce 2,000 tonnes of coal a day after resuming the production.

“Coal production will reach 2,000 metric tonnes a day in the next 20 days,” he said, adding that the monthly production will increase to 80,000 tonnes over the next few months.

Coal output at Barapukuria was suspended on July 20, 2018 due to the shift to a new coal seam. Labour unrest also contributed to the complete halt in coal production.

Electricity generation in Barapukuria power plant shut was shut down two days into the suspension of coal production.

Three units of Barapukuria Power Plant, having a capacity to generate 525MW of electricity, require at least 4,500 tonnes of coal every day for power generation.

But, the coal mine will be able to supply only 3,000 tonnes of coal a day when its production will begin in full swing, still leaving a sh

it would reassure the banks/credit providers to a degree

something burning

nothing has changed in 10yrs except dilution

3p??
or boing to 27p

http://www.daily-sun.com/post/333493/2018/09/03/Government-plans-to-implement-10-mega-power-projects-by-2030

If we are really sincere about producing electricity from coal at a reasonable price, then it has to be produced from domestic coal, not imported.

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/opinion/no-frills/mystery-the-disappearing-coal-1628611
The Barapukuria coal mine debacle continues to generate considerable interest in media and not without reason. According to the lead news in a major Bangla daily published on September 3, the government has so far purchased around 10.1 million tonnes of coal from Barapukukria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL). BCMCL has also managed to lose 145,000 tonnes of coal which has prompted an investigation. What ought to be pointed out here is that when we talk about coal from Barapukuria that is mined specifically for the 525-megawatt power plant, we are talking of coal of “Barapukuria grade” (high calorie, low sulphur and low ash coal). Coal is not all solid, there is also ash content. The distinction is necessary if we are to go deeper into the reasons for the loss of some of the coal due to technical/climatic reasons.

Coal experts point out that a certain percentage of the coal stored in the stockyard will be lost due to nature's elements, i.e. exposure to sunlight, wind and rain. Here rain acts as a detriment to stored coal as coal dust is washed off. Coal is also continuously combustible. Hence its temperature cannot be allowed to rise above a certain level. This requires water to be sprayed on the coal which results in further wash off. Then there is the issue of coal being stocked on open ground (in the mud in certain cases), so some of the coal actually sinks into the ground. The losses sustained due to these reasons of course are only a small part of the overall loss of 145,000 tonnes of coal.

They certainly do not explain how so much coal simply disappeared from the stockyard. The coal that is stored is transported to the power plant using conveyor belts. And this is where unfortunate things begin to happen. There is no system in place that would check if there is siphoning off of coal while it is being transported via conveyor belt. This brings us to the primary question of inventory, or stock management.

BCMCL started its commercial operation in 2005 without an inventory system in place. Over 13 years, no governmental body saw it fit to put such a system in place. Why? The probe that has been initiated should sift through historical data (if any exist) to find out how much coal has gone missing over the years. It is simply unconscionable that the country has been left in the lurch (525 MW of power not being produced daily) because energy policy planners never decided to put in measures which would keep stock of what was being produced and what was being delivered to the power plant. According to an article printed in The Financial Express on August 26, the author rightly stated that “There should have been a stock of 148,000 tonnes of coal at the 17-acre mine yard. But it was found in mid July that the mine yard has only 3,000 tonnes of coal stock. It was further reported that no inventory audit for coal production and selling was done since

http://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/columns/power-generation-at-high-cost-1535906060
The country's power sector is witnessing a sort of mixed trend. Since the year 2010, its power generation capacity has gone up remarkably, leading to a notable reduction in load-shedding. But power tariff has been hiked almost threefold since then, stirring up great dissatisfaction among the power subscribers.

The power generation capacity has more than doubled over the last eight years, primarily because of a generous approach of the government to setting up small and medium rental power plants by the private sector entrepreneurs across the country.

The gap between the demand for, and the supply of, power in the country continued to widen until 2009 for lack of serious efforts to set up power plants. Such inaction had led to frequent load-shedding, causing great inconvenience to power subscribers. Industrial production and commercial activities used to suffer serious disruption in those days.


The situation has now greatly improved in most parts of the country. However, some outreach and rural areas do still encounter the problem of power outages.

Allegations have it that the government has, in real terms, laid more emphasis on short-term solution than the long-term one in its efforts to address the issue of power crisis. It has allowed a large number of private rental power plants offering 'questionable' benefits, including the arrangement for capacity payments.

Suspicion of foul play and irregularities has rather been strengthened by the enactment of a law, styled, the Speedy Supply of Power and energy (special provision), 2010. The law bars anyone to go to court against actions taken under it and offers immunity to those involved with quick-fix remedies.

The law in question was initially made effective for two years. But its tenure has been extended, at least, on four occasions.

The government's initial plan was to allow a limited number of rental power plants for certain period and retire the same after the expiry of their tenures. In the meanwhile, large power plants would be set up both in private and public sectors to meet the demand-supply gap.

However, the government retreated from this plan and continued to allow more and more oil-based rental and quick rental power plants. It offered additional incentives to these plants, including duty-free import of furnace oil.

There have been questions about rates at which the government is buying power from these plants. The rates vary widely. In some cases, the rate is as high as Tk 25 a unit of electricity.

The purchase of a large volume of power from rental power plants at high costs has been causing substantial loss to the government. It has hiked the power tariff on a number of occasions. But that could hardly compensate for the loss.

There is no denying that the power purchase rates offered to rental power plants are too high. But, in some cases, the cost of power

12.41 SALE WAS A BUY

church of boom or doom - bbr?

Gender reassignment ???

must be more down due - and it aint duck