A four-member technical team from Bangladesh left Dhaka on Tuesday (July 27) for Kolkata to examine options to install power transmission line for grid connectivity under an agreement signed between Bangladesh and India on July 26. Led by Managing Director of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) Ruhul Amin, the team will sit with the West Bengal electricity transmission authority and visit several locations to examine the options to install a grid substation for the connectivity.

Against the backdrop of less response of financial institutions to invest in power sector, the World Bank (WB) has linked local financial institutions to longer term investments in small power plants and infrastructure sectors. They will go for infrastructure projects like transport, water treatment, waste management and services for economic zones besides small power plants, as the WB is promoting the concept of Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

“There will be a gap between demand and supply of power this year and next year in Bangladesh , but the situation will be normal sometime after 2012,” Finance Minister of Bangladesh AMA Muhith said.He was speaking at a conference titled “Investment in Power Sector of Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges,” at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Saturday. In his speech, he stressed the need for sustainable investment in the power sector to address the ongoing crisis.

An electric battery based on boiled potatoes could provide a cheap source of electricity in the developing world, according to the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The treated potato battery generates energy that is five to 50 times cheaper than commercially available batteries, Yissum Research Development Co said on today. A light powered by the battery is at least six times more economical than kerosene lamps often used in the developing world.

The finance minister, AMA Muhith, has proposed an increase of 41.86 per cent in allocation for the power and energy sector in the next budget, but has given no indication of giving any subsidy to offset the high cost of electricity from rental power plants. The budget documents presented by the minister at the Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday rather showed that the price of electricity will be increased by 20-30 per cent in phases in two to three years because of the high cost electricity.

The Tullow operated Bangora gas field and processing facility in Bangladesh was shutdown for safety reasons.  The facilities were shutdown in a safe and controlled manner following a process upset that resulted in a minor displacement of the export pipeline. No gas was leaked from the pipeline and no personnel were impacted. An expert team has been mobilised to the site to investigate the cause of the process upset,