Bangladesh News

The government is preparing a policy to finance the power sector with private partnership, said Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Prof M Tamim yesterday.

“The government will have 51 percent share while its private partners will have 49 percent,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop styled “Energy Security and Development: Perspective Bangladesh” organised by Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) and Bangladesh Heritage Foundation in cooperation with Grameen Shakti.

The review of the draft coal policy is almost complete and it will be sent to the law ministry for vetting in seven-10 days, he said emphasising the need for setting up coal-fired power plants to lessen the pressure on gas consumption so that gas can be used as fuel in vehicles and industries and the production of fertiliser.

“There are no major changes in the coal policy that the last committee drafted,” he said.

Referring to the point that Bangladesh passed a poor period in terms of gas exploration during the last 10 years, he said, “We have allocated money for Bapex to explore for gas and asked international oil companies to do the same.”

Gas price, however, has to be changed, Tamim said, adding that there is no immediate plan to increase gas price.

Asked if the government supports open-pit mining at Phulbari coalmine, Tamim, also a petroleum engineer, said it is only the coalmine experts and environmentalists who can say which method is appropriate for that area.

Energy experts at the workshop suggested strengthening negotiations with India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar for regional cooperation in the energy sector.

Even though gas reserves will lessen considerably in next one decade or so, Bangladesh has adequate coal reserves which should be properly utilised, said Maj Gen Aminul Karim NDC, military secretary to the president.

“If adequate energy is not present, our GDP will go down,” he said, adding that bureaucratic tangles created tremendous problems in the power sector.

In his presentation, Prof Ijaz Hossain of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) said, “Considering the coal reserves of Bangladesh, the country has better energy security compared to India and USA. So, there is nothing to worry about.”

He said Bangladesh does not need to export coal, rather it needs strategies on how more investments could be made for power generation in line with power demands.

Rural Electrification Board Director BD Rahmatullah said massive usage of energy saving bulbs and electronic ballasts would save a few hundred megawatts of electricity. Campaign programmes for power saving should be launched to mitigate the present power crisis, he added.

Petrobangla Chairman Jalal Ahmed said gas crisis is intensifying troubles in power generation and therefore diversifying the sources of energy is required.

Abdul Gafran of Grameen Shakti suggested putting a spotlight on renewable sources of energy, especially in the rural areas where people cannot afford gas. A wind-mapping of the country should be carried out to pave the way for investors to come here and invest in wind power, he said.

Lt Gen Zahir, Lt Col Moin Uddin and former chairman of Power Development Board Quamrul Islam Siddiqui also spoke at the programme chaired by BILIA Director Ambassador Wali-ur Rahman. Representatives of development partners and businesses were also present.