Search

• COVID-19 has triggered acute power demand shock to the developing countries like Bangladesh. • Bangladesh may curtail expensive liquid fuel based generation dispatch by reducing the use of expensive peaking capacity. • Further capacity addition may perhaps be delayed for the intervening period up to 2025. • Prospects of using Battery storage to manage evening peak at the wholesale level in Bangladesh. • Balanced power import-export regime with neighboring countries possibly will be beneficial for Bangladesh. COVID-19 highlights impact of sudden and sustained periods of low demand that may have major ramifications for financial viability of utilities. However, these effects may be mitigated to some extent through efficient management of dispatch, adjustment of capital outlay for committed capacity and provides an opportunity to reshape longer term capacity development. These issues are particularly critical for developing countries like Bangladesh where the demand shock was acute from avg. 10 % per-annum (pa) to (−)12 % over April-June 2020. This analysis shows how Bangladesh can significantly curtail expensive liquid fuel based generation dispatch, eliminate the use of expensive peaking capacity and even delay some of its capacity addition for the intervening period up to 2025. Prospects of using Battery storage to manage evening peak at the wholesale level have been explored in the analysis and it demonstrates such investments in the present demand scenario is not economic. On the other hand, a more balanced import-export regime with neighboring countries may be beneficial to manage the seasonal capacity surplus that is likely to grow over the next five years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]