Electricity import - an option for meeting energy crisis

Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has recently signed two Agreements with Indian power sector conglomerate Adani Power Ltd for importing 1,600 MW electricity. Adani Group's subsidiary company, Adani Power (Jharkhand, India) signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with BPDB to supply power from its coal-based ultra-supercritical power plant to be set up at Godda, Jharkhand. According to the agreement, BPDB is to pay US 8.612 cents per unit of electric energy for 25 years to Adani Power for the supplied energy.

Bangladesh began importing power from India since 2015. As per BPDB's published data, more than 7.0 per cent of the country's electric energy (currently in use) is sourced from import. BPDB expects an additional 1000 MW power import within 2018.

The government has approved the installation of Bangladesh-India third cross-border power transmission line at a cost of Taka 1.89 billion from Bheramara to Baharamara (second Bheramara-Baharamour 400 kV double circuit transmission line) of India to transmit 500 MW power.

In the backdrop of declining natural gas supply from domestic gas fields (approximately 68 per cent electric energy have been generated using domestic gas), share of imported liquid fuel (furnace oil nearly 17 per cent and diesel 4.0 per cent) has been increasing for power generation. Import of electricity (nearly 7.0 per cent) enabled the country to reduce dependence on liquid fuel-based electricity generation. With the rapidly depleting domestic gas reserve Bangladesh has little option but to rely on expensive power import options.

Bangladesh is poised to import Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to meet the shortfall of natural gas.  There are plans to generate electric energy from imported LNG-based power plants. The imported LNG will be re-gasified and supplied to the pipelines as blended gas for the different categories of consumers. There is a plan to generate power from imported coal (10,000 MW). Also a 2,400-MW nuclear power plant has been under construction at Rooppur, Pabna with Russian financial and technical assistances. The plant is scheduled to generate electric energy in 2024.

Experts estimate that imported LNG-based electric energy may cost 8-12 US cents/kWh. Imported coal-based may cost 8-10 US cents/kWh. In both cases power tariff may change with LNG and coal price fluctuations in the international market. Also, for import of LNG there is a requirement for building re-gasification plants to convert LNG into natural gas to supply through pipelines.  And for import of coal there is a requirement of building deep-sea port or dedicated coal terminal having access of ocean-going coal-carrying vessels. These infrastructures require large investment and significant time to build.

As against this, power (thermal power) import from India costs 6-10 US cents/kWh. Thus power import is a better option compared to generating power from imported coal and LNG or liquid petroleum fuel.

The consumers have been experiencing steady growth of power price since 2008 and in 2016, the price stood at Taka 6.1/kWh. The power price hike is directly linked to increased share of liquid petroleum-based power generation and decline of natural gas availability in the country.

Renewable (mainly, solar energy) energy is still a costly option for Bangladesh (US 12 Cents/kWh generation cost from solar). Availability of land for solar power generation presents a serious problem.  The available technology (photovoltaic cells that convert light energy to electric energy) demands approximately 3-4 acres of land for generating one megawatt electric energy. The potential of hydro-electricity is also limited (230 MW Kaptai Hydro electric power generation facility is the only one so far).

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh has been trying to import electric energy, including hydro-electricity, from India, Nepal and Bhutan under the sub-regional cooperation (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal - BBIN) agreement. The country also considers Chinese and Myanmarese electricity resources as potential sources for power import. A media report quoting Li Xinhao, the Deputy Director of China Southern Power Grid Company Ltd, a leading power company of China, states that 'China sees good prospect in electricity sharing by Bangladesh and Myanmar in the future through grid interconnection transmitting clean hydro-power from China's Yunnan province'. The current Rohingya crisis of Myanmar temporarily pushed the energy cooperation issues between Bangladesh and Myanmar to the back burner. But with the 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR) initiative progressing, grid interconnection between China and Bangladesh via Myanmar could be an option for power import.

There is a consensus among all the stakeholders, including mainstream political parties, to develop more inter-connecting electricity grid lines to facilitate more power import for the growing markets in Bangladesh from India and from other neighbours. It is not unlikely that regional surplus electric energy will be transmitted through high voltage smart grids within the countries of the BBIN and Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM). Such power trading will significantly help improve the economy and livelihood of the people in the region.

The writer is a mining engineer and writes on energy and environment issues.

[email protected]