RE: Current energy situation10 Dec 2018 18:45
Power sector: Looming challenges
Md. Sakib Chowdhury | December 11, 2018 00:00:00
Bangladesh's power generation capacity increased from 5,201 MW in June 2008 to 20,133 MW in September 2018 and electricity consumption saw a staggering average annual growth rate of 9.0 per cent over the last decade. Eventually, access to electricity for the country increased from 48.4 per cent in 2010 to 80.0 per cent in 2017. Also, maximum load shedding, according to Bangladesh Power Development, has declined from 1,049 MW in FY'08 to 250 MW in FY'17. Moreover, transmission and distribution system loss was significantly reduced over the period. Such an outstanding development in the power sector is one of the key drivers of the country's impressive economic growth of above 6.0 per cent on an average per year over the last decade.
Over the last two decades, on an average, 77 per cent of total electricity supplied to the national grid of Bangladesh was produced from natural gas. Large and young population (median age of around 24 years only), growing urban population and potential for further industrialisation represent significant growth potential for the power sector. As the demand for Bangladesh's power keeps increasing, the primary fuel for electricity generation, natural gas, given its depleting reserve, is fast becoming insufficient to meet its growing demand.
To overcome the crisis, the country came up with the Power System Master Plan (PSMP) in 2010 with a roadmap for meet its energy demands by 2030. The master plan rightly identified the depleting gas reserve of the country and envisaged generating around 50 per cent of the country's electricity from coal, 25 per cent from gas, 10 per cent from nuclear-based power plants, 10 per cent from renewables, and the rest from other resources. But things did not go according to the plan. The coal-based power plants particularly saw very little progress. Moreover, at present, renewables contribute only about 1.7 per cent of total electricity generation, the bulk of which comes from hydroelectricity and solar. At Kaptai in the South-east region of Bangladesh, the country has a hydroelectric plant with 230.0 MW generation capacity. The plant at Kaptai has a potential for extending capacity by 100 MW by utilising spill water. Apart from the site in Kaptai, Bangladesh has two more possible sites for constructing two medium-size hydro plants across the Sangu and Matamuhuri rivers in the same region. As the terrain of the country is flat, there is no realist prospect for building additional hydro units. Moreover, in Bangladesh, 60 per cent of the available land is used for food production, 20 per cent for various infrastructure including industries and 1-2 per cent for habitation. With land being short in supply, it is difficult to see commercial solar power generation becoming a significant contributor to the national electricity consumption. Thus, the target to product 10 per cent of the total electricity ge
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