Private sector should depend more on national grid instead of captive power plants for running their industrial units to help lessen energy cost and boost investment in the public sector.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid gave the opinion at a dialogue -- 'Country's remarkable success in power generation: the best use of electricity to achieve dynamic economic growth' - in a city hotel on Sunday.
He was the special guest at the dialogue, organised by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI).
"Please, leave captive power and utilise our uninterrupted electricity supply (from national grid). The more electricity you purchase from us (the government), the higher the investment will be in public sector," said the state minister.
The quality of electricity supply by the government has also improved significantly at present, Mr Hamid noted.
Acknowledging minor disturbances in some places, he said: "The overall situation has improved notably comparing to the past."
UNB adds: The state minister also said around 4,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity remains unutilised during off-peak hours. He urged the industries to increase their power consumption during off-peak hours.
"Our demand for electricity drastically comes down after 11 pm, leading to a surplus of 4,000 MW power," he said while addressing the seminar.
Nasrul said the unconsumed power of off-peak hour now has been a big concern for the government as it has to pay a huge amount of money as capacity charge to the private generation companies.
The government plans to offer lower tariff for electricity consumption during the off-peak hours, he said adding that the government is now making its efforts for providing uninterrupted power supply to consumers.
"The DPDC has taken a $1.2-billion project to take electricity cable into underground and set up new substations," he said adding that the Prime Minister is expected to visit China in March or April next when deals will be signed for Chinese investment in this regard.
Mentioning that the government has moved to set up 108 special economic zones where uninterrupted gas and power supply will be ensured Nasrul Hamid urged the owners of industries to set up their industries in the special economic zones.
Nasrul also pointed out that the government has planned to generate 60,000 MW of power by 2040 for which about $120 billion will be required to invest. "But both the public and private sectors are unable to invest taking loan from local banks due to high interest rate of about 14 per cent."
Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman attended the discussion as the chief guest, with FBCCI President Md. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin at the chair.
Dr. Ahmad Kaikaus, Secretary of Power Division under Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Sheikh F Fahim, Senior Vice President of FBCCI, Khaled Mahmood, Chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), and Md Helal Uddin, Chairman of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), took part in the programme.
In his speech, Salman F Rahman said the country has made a remarkable economic progress during the last one decade.
"The achievement of the power sector, which is one of the keys to industrial development, is also highly praiseworthy."
Achieving the desired double-digit economic growth will largely depend on quality power and gas supply, he added.
Representatives of trade-bodies of various sectors, including ceramic, apparel and real estate, also attended the discussion, among others.
United Group and Energypac supported FBCCI to organise the dialogue.
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