National Energy Grid
Bangladesh
GRID SUMMARY
Bangladesh has small reserves of oil and coal,
but potentially very large natural gas resources.
Commercial energy consumption is around 71% natural
gas, with the remainder almost entirely oil (plus
limited amounts of hydropower and coal). Only around
18% of the population (25% in urban areas and 10%
in rural areas) has access to electricity, and
per capita commercial energy consumption is among
the lowest in the world. Noncommercial energy sources,
such as wood, animal wastes, and crop residues,
are estimated to account for over half of the country's
energy consumption. Consumption of wood for fuel
has contributed to deforestation and other environmental
problems in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's installed electric generating capacity
in 2000 was 3.8 gigawatts (GW), of which 94% was
thermal (mainly natural-gas-fired), and the remainder
hydroelectric, at 18 power stations. With only
around 18% of the population connected to the electricity
grid, and with power demand growing rapidly (10%
annually from 1974-1994; 7% annually from 1995-1997),
Bangladesh's Power System Master Plan (PSMP) projects
a required doubling of electric generating capacity
by 2010.
The Padma-Jamuna-Meghna river system divides Bangladesh
into two zones, East and West. The East contains
nearly all of the country's electric generating
capacity, while the West, with almost no natural
resources, must import power from the East. Electricity
interconnection from the East to the West was accomplished
in 1982 by a new, 230-kilovolt (kV) power transmission
line. The vast majority of Bangladesh's electricity
consumption takes place in the East, with the entire
region west of the Jamuna River accounting for
only 22% of the total. Greater Dhaka alone consumes
around half of Bangladeshi electricity.
Discussions have been underway for several years
about the possibility of Bangladesh connection
its electric grid to those of India, Nepal, and
Bhutan. Nepal and Bhutan have substantial
untapped hydroelectricity potential. This power
could be consumed in those two countries and also
exported to India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In
March 1999, it was reported that India's Power
Grid Corporation had completed a feasibility study
on possible exchange of 150 MW of power between
Bangladesh and India. Interconnection points would
be Ishwardi, Bangladesh-Farakka, India and Shahjibazar,
Bangladesh-Kurnarghat, India.
Country Overview
National
Energy Grid Index
Map
of Bangladesh Electricity Grid | National Energy Grid Index
GENI Home Page | Contact
GENI | Subscribe
to GENI Newsletter | Pledge
| Comments
| GENI Forum
|
