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Outages back with gas shortage

Generation in gas-based power plants falls as fertiliser factories operate in full swing

Sharier Khan
The country is once again facing daily power cuts and poor gas supply as gas-based fertiliser production has been in full swing for the last one month.
For the best part of this year, the government had shut down fertiliser factories to divert gas to power plants and for other commercial use.
But the situation has changed in the last one month when all fertiliser factories began operating, drawing gas which would have otherwise gone to some power plants.
Power Development Board (PDB)
sources said due to gas shortage, around 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity was not being generated. This has triggered a loadshedding of 300MW to 500MW every day. Some parts of the capital were seeing four to five hour-long load-shedding a day.
The PDB had achieved the milestone of achieving 7,400MW power in July this year, more than l,000MW of what it could a year ago, thanks to the addition of new power plants as well as import of electricity from India.
According to sources in the Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL) and
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Petrobangla, there has been a constant gas supply shortfall of 500 million cubic feet a day (mmcfd), almost a quarter of the available supply.
But after gas was diverted back to fertiliser factories in August, the supply pressure across the country plummeted.
"We have launched a new gas compressor station at Ashuganj recently to improve gas supply pres-
sure. But the demand has shot up so much that it is unable to maintain a desired gas pressure. If we increase gas compression too much, there will not be any gas upstream [gas producing areas in and around Sylhet]," said a GTCL official, adding, "We must simply have more gas upstream."
A Titas official said, "Over the years, non-bulk consumers which represent industries, commercial operations and domestic connections, have significantly grown. Whereas Titas distributes 1,500 mmcfd gas, 900 mmcfd gas is consumed by non-bulk customers. This
year, non-bulk customers are using more than 900 mmcfd gas, contributing to the gas crisis."
A Petrobangla official added, "In addition, unchecked gas theft in different parts of the country led by political leaders and hoodlums is contributing to the crisis."
From Brahmanbaria to Dhaka, political leaders have taken money from people to give them thousands of illegal gas connections. They deploy pipeline contractors to perforate the main gas line and install illegal connections. These leaders have such clout that when Titas Gas teams visit the sites to disconnect illegal connections, they attack them and foil all attempts. There are many cases in which Titas gas staffs had to be hospitalised.
"We have repeatedly written to the district administration to help us get rid of these illegal connections. The government knows each and every politicians and hoodlums involved in this but it won't take any action; neither would it legalise the illegal con-
nections," said the Petrobangla official.
According to Petrobangla, the situation would not ease until US oil company Chevron completes its Bibiyana gas field expansion project later this year to increase gas production by 300 mmcfd.
"Meanwhile, we should prepare a gas demand-supply calendar for the next year. As you know power demands drop during the winter and go up in summer. Similarly, the fertiliser factories do not produce fertiliser all year round. Whereas the demand of the industrial consumers is steady. Therefore, if we maintain a calendar, the gas re-distribution around the year could be more optimised to achieve best results," he added.
At the same time, the government should consider replacing inefficient power and fertiliser factories and motivate the private sector to upgrade their captive power generation and boilers with more gas-efficient machines.