NATO chief voices full confidence in Trump
On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed full confidence in U.S. President Donald Trump and defended his initiatives ahead of a plann...
Bangladesh is boosting power imports from India and output from fuel oil-fired power plants in a scramble to meet rising electricity demand as it grapples with constraints on gas supply and coal plant maintenance, industry officials and analysts say.
Power imports, mainly from an Adani Power-run coal-fired plant in eastern India, rose 70% in the seven months through July and helped satisfy most of the rising demand, government data showed.
Natural gas accounted for about two-thirds of Bangladesh's power demand in the decade that ended in 2020, but the country has been boosting power imports and local coal-fired generation due to gas infrastructure challenges and to cut costs.
"It's about cost effectiveness, and gas is required for the fertiliser industry, whereas cheap electricity can be received from other sources, including fuel oil," said Adeeba Aziz Khan, director of Bangladesh's Summit Power SMPL.DH.
Her firm runs a dozen power plants using gas and fuel oil.
"There is a shortage of gas for electricity generation and evacuation problems," Khan said on the sidelines of the APPEC conference, adding that it was difficult to see a resurgence in gas-fired generation in the "foreseeable future".
A senior official of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said many gas-fired plants were not running at capacity because of pressure-related technical problems, while coal-fired power output was lower due to maintenance outages.
"The government didn't have many choices. To avoid blackouts, they turned to imports, and Adani's power was available in large volume," said the official, who sought anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter.
BPDB did not respond to requests seeking comment.
The share of imports during the first seven months of this year jumped to 15.4% from 9.5% and that of fuel oil-fired power rose to 12.6% from 11.9% annually, government data showed.
"When power demand started increasing since March, they had to increase imports and fuel oil-based power generation," said Shafiqul Alam, a Bangladesh-based analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
The share of natural gas in power generation slipped to 43.9% from 46.8%, while the share of domestic coal-fired output fell to 26.2% from 30.1%.
The South Asian country increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 24% in the seven months through July, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. Still, gas-fired power generation fell 1.2%, according to government data.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday ruled that Israel is obliged under the Geneva Convention to permit and facilitate humanitarian aid from third states and neutral organisations,
On Wednesday, Russia reported that its military had carried out large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities, while Ukraine said its forces had targeted a Russian chemical plant.
On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed full confidence in U.S. President Donald Trump and defended his initiatives ahead of a planned meeting with the Russian leader.
According to the UN, the majority of methane leaks identified by satellites — around 90% — are still not officially acknowledged by governments or oil and gas companies.
A bill extending Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, a move widely seen as tantamount to annexation of territory sought by Palestinians for a future state received preliminary approval from Israel’s parliament on Wednesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment