Indian company to build power plant in Bangladesh

[bluesky]

Indian company to build power plant in Bangladesh
PPA, execution deals signed
FE Report | August 29, 2017 13:29:01

Picture used only for representation.

Another Indian firm will build a dual-fuel power plant in Bangladesh, this one in Bhola, with generation capacity of around 220 megawatts (MW).

Nutan Bidyut Bangladesh Ltd (NBBL), a newly established subsidiary of India's Shapoorji-Pallongi Group, entered into a couple of deals with Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to this effect.

The state-run BPDB inked Monday a power-purchase agreement (PPA) and an implementation agreement (IA) with the Indian firm on the project.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, who was the chief at the deal-signing ceremony at Bidyut Bhaban in Dhaka, said the country requires generating around 2,000 MWs of electricity every year to meet a mounting demand.

"The government would improve the skill level of the personnel involved with the power sector to face the ever-changing challenges," he said.

The state minister said the government has planned to start importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by April 2018 to feed growing energy needs in the country.

Mr Hamid said the power-generation capacity reached 15,775 MWs and over 80 per cent people were brought under electricity coverage.

Secretary of BPDB Mina Masud-uz-Zaman and J Sinha Mahapatra, director of NBBL, signed the PPA and IA on behalf of their respective sides.

According to the deal, the power company would supply electricity to the national grid within December 2019 from the date of signing the agreement.

BPDB will purchase electricity from NBBL for 22 years at the rate of US$3.98 cent per unit (1.0 kilowatt-hour) if the plant is run on natural gas and $16.96 cent per unit if it is run on diesel.

Some other Indian firms have signed deals earlier for setting up power plants in Bangladesh, including the one at Rampal.

 

[EastBengalPro]

Always welcome!

 

[Banglar Bir]

Democratic governance of power sector is must
Published: 00:05, Aug 31,2017

THE government’s growing efforts to meet the energy demand, laudable though, raises some serious concerns. It has given, as New Age reported on Wednesday, exemption to Russian company Gazprom in that it will not be liable for any damage to gas reserves because of any blowout or other accidents in drilling wells in different gas fields.

Moreover, as the contract says, the state-run companies, Petrobangla and the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company, will bear the cost of new drilling equipment if they are damaged in any accidents under Gazprom’s watch.

Besides, the contract with Gazprom is not cost-effective. It has also disregarded the commonly known risks of drilling a well in a high-pressure zone and the cost of drilling. As various sources say, the cost of drilling is 80 per cent higher than the cost if Bapex would take carry out the job. In a previous drilling job, which Gazprom received without having to go through the tender process, the company failed to extract the target amount of gas when it drilled 15 wells in 2012–16.

When such contracts are expected to be signed in the presence of media to make them public, the contract in question was signed secretly in May. In light of the above facts, it will not be mistaken to say that the government has risked the growth of the energy sector and public safety.

The government awarded Gazprom the contracts to drill all the 17 wells under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provisions) Act 2010 to keep actors and their action in the power and energy sector above the customary law.

The act not only applies to the energy sector, but it also exempts the directors and officials of nuclear power companies from all possible damage and expenses. However flawed and risky the contract with Gazprom is, no individual or expert could take legal steps.

It is in this context that the claim of many energy experts and environmental activists that there are local agents of these foreign companies working in Bangladesh, some of whom are high officials in the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, which is why such decisions are made. Even some Bapex officials, as New Age has reported, echo their claim and term the contracts with Gazprom worst than the contract signed with Niko for gas exploration at Tengratila.

In the contract with Niko, there was a provision of realising compensation for any damage done in the drilling of wells. It is evident that vested interests in the government are serving the interest of the multinational corporations and sabotaging the democratic growth of state-run companies.

The government should, therefore, form an independent commission that will not only review these questionable contracts with foreign companies but also review the merits of the 2010 act. The incumbent must immediately abandon such reckless contracts that deter democratic growth of the energy sector and risks public interest.
http://www.newagebd.net/article/23118/democratic-governance-of-power-sector-is-must