Planning power production
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Not a moment should be lost in formulating plans on emergency basis and then integrating those with a foolproof long-term plan to cater fully and effectively to the energy security of the country. The country's growing energy insecurity is manifest from various enterprises getting starved for power and even a large number of the newly established ones among them even failing to start production from lack of power. The current power output at around 3,200 mw trails demand by well over 1,000 mw. Even this estimation of the shortage is considered a conservative one with the real effective shortage in response to demand being even bigger. Thus, it needs no elaboration how the country's economic growth has been put on a hold from the non-availability of power.
Gas-fired power plants are the main source of power generation in Bangladesh. But under the present situation of under production of gas in the backdrop of its dwindled reserve and non-discovery of substantial new deposits, gas supplies to even existing power generating units have been falling drastically causing deep cuts in power production. According to a report in this paper last Monday, some 700 mw of power is denied to the national grid from the inability of different gas-based power plants to generate that amount of power from shortage in gas supplies. The energy ministry has informed all concerned about its inability to supply gas to eight large and medium power plants which are being planned to be run with gas. Thus, it should be obvious that the short-term prospects of additional power generation by using gas, are bleak. Thus, it is imperative to go for alternatives to gas-based power generation and this must be done very promptly and fruitfully in view of the power-related crunch for the economy turning worse and worse.
It is a great mockery in the present context of Bangladesh that power production from coal is a very meagre 250 mw only when the country has good and usable coal reserves equivalent to 60 tcf of gas. But the present proven total recoverable reserve of gas in the country is only about 9.2 tcf. Thus, it should be only logical to conserve the limited gas for using as raw materials for fertilizer making, for household uses and as raw materials of various industries. Power generation ought to be mainly based on coal the supply of which is abundant and far greater than gas.
Even common sense dictates that no time should be lost in concentrating all efforts to set up coal-fired power plants on the highest priority basis. The debates over ways of extracting coal and related factors should be winded up at the fastest and the coal use policy, readied and made operational at the soonest to pave the way for the establishment of coal-fired power stations. Too much time has been wasted in this matter pushing the country into deep energy insecurity. Only further losses will be avoided by expediting all endeavours to harness power from coal. But the coal exploitation process needs to be under the country's own ownership as much as possible to avoid the present scenario of Bangladesh buying gas discovered on its own territories from foreign owners of such gas at comparatively higher costs.
Gas-fired power plants are the main source of power generation in Bangladesh. But under the present situation of under production of gas in the backdrop of its dwindled reserve and non-discovery of substantial new deposits, gas supplies to even existing power generating units have been falling drastically causing deep cuts in power production. According to a report in this paper last Monday, some 700 mw of power is denied to the national grid from the inability of different gas-based power plants to generate that amount of power from shortage in gas supplies. The energy ministry has informed all concerned about its inability to supply gas to eight large and medium power plants which are being planned to be run with gas. Thus, it should be obvious that the short-term prospects of additional power generation by using gas, are bleak. Thus, it is imperative to go for alternatives to gas-based power generation and this must be done very promptly and fruitfully in view of the power-related crunch for the economy turning worse and worse.
It is a great mockery in the present context of Bangladesh that power production from coal is a very meagre 250 mw only when the country has good and usable coal reserves equivalent to 60 tcf of gas. But the present proven total recoverable reserve of gas in the country is only about 9.2 tcf. Thus, it should be only logical to conserve the limited gas for using as raw materials for fertilizer making, for household uses and as raw materials of various industries. Power generation ought to be mainly based on coal the supply of which is abundant and far greater than gas.
Even common sense dictates that no time should be lost in concentrating all efforts to set up coal-fired power plants on the highest priority basis. The debates over ways of extracting coal and related factors should be winded up at the fastest and the coal use policy, readied and made operational at the soonest to pave the way for the establishment of coal-fired power stations. Too much time has been wasted in this matter pushing the country into deep energy insecurity. Only further losses will be avoided by expediting all endeavours to harness power from coal. But the coal exploitation process needs to be under the country's own ownership as much as possible to avoid the present scenario of Bangladesh buying gas discovered on its own territories from foreign owners of such gas at comparatively higher costs.