Bangladesh, producing 3,267MW electricity against the demand for 5200MW just five years ago, now has reached the milestone of 10,000MW power generation capacity. In the previous election manifesto of the present government, it had made a commitment to enhance the country's power generation capacity to 7,000 MW by 2013.
A total of 57 power plants have been constructed in the country over the last five years and 33 more are under construction. Now, the per capita power generation capacity of the country has risen to 321 kilowatts compared to 220 kilowatts in 2009 and 62 per cent of the population have been brought under the power supply coverage against 47 per cent previously. Approximately 3.45 million more people have got access to power supply. The system loss in distribution has been reduced from 15.67 per cent to 12.03 per cent.
Although the installed power generation facilities are now able to add 6,803 MW consistently to the national grid, regular power outages have not been reduced significantly. Different types of power plants generate electricity and add it to the national grid. But there are some isolated diesel-run power stations in remote areas and islands remaining outside the national grid network. Besides, the government had to raise power tariff six times to reduce the pressure of subsidy in the power sector. The first and foremost reason for it is the 12.03 per cent loss incurred on account of power supply to 14.2 million consumers through 290,000 km distribution lines.
Bangladesh is still reeling from the load-shedding accounting for at least 600-1200 MW against the demand for around 7,500 MW, a situation which deteriorates during the irrigation season, when the demand-supply gap widens up to 1500 MW. Domestic and industrial sectors consume about 43 per cent and 44 per cent of electricity respectively, i.e. a total of about 87 per cent of power consumption occurs in these two sectors. A large part of the energy is used for lighting.
According to the government estimation, the demand for electricity peaks up during the Boro irrigation and summer seasons lasting from March to May. Although we are capable of producing the required amount of electricity in the country, we face frequent power cuts. Our demand for electricity is increasing by 10 per cent every year. So, we should take preparations for attaining the ability to produce at least 15,000MW electricity in order to ensure uninterrupted electricity supplies, especially to the rural areas for irrigation during the summer.
The government has plans to provide electricity connections to every household within the next five years. Distribution companies, including the Rural Electrification Board, are already working on it. In order to implement this plan successfully, the government must address corruption in this sector. In addition, technology should be introduced in every sphere of the sector.
The government estimates that investments to the tune of US$ 18 billion would be required by 2017 to achieve the power generation capacity of 16,000 MW. But by that time some power plants will lose their generation capacity, contracts of some rental power plants will be over and the dependable capacity would be around 13,000 MW while the estimated 24,000 MW of electricity needs to be generated to attain the vision 2021. If we fail to adopt pragmatic policies alongside concrete actions in this regard, the ongoing power management crisis may continue to haunt us in the days to come. We expect that the vision 2021 will turn into a reality, when everyone will get access to electricity at an affordable price.
shahana_bilkis@yahoo.com
Why power cuts despite sufficient production?
Shahana Bilkis | Published: May 17, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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