Adopt a time-bound action plan for power sector, says CA

FE Team | Published: August 17, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed directed Thursday all the state power agencies to adopt a time-bound action plan for implementing the development projects, earmarked in the current fiscal for resolving the country's prevailing electricity crisis.
His directive came at a high-profile meeting while reviewing the execution status of development schemes under the power sector, a meeting source said.
Finance Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam, Power Adviser Tapan Chowdhury, secretaries of Power Division and IMED, member of the Planning Commission and heads of various state-run power entities were present at the meeting held at the CA's Office in the city.
"Authorities of the state power agencies need to expedite the process of implementing their respective projects incorporated in the government's annual development programme (ADP)," the CA was quoted as saying.
The meeting was informed that a total of 51 development projects had been included in the current ADP for the power sector, said a source.
According to sources, the meeting also discussed both the country's power problems and its possible solutions.
After reviewing the country's overall power situation, the CA advised the concerned agencies to take necessary measures for both the short and long run to boost the country's power generation capacity.
He also stressed the need for taking necessary official steps for early installation of the proposed power units under the private sector.
He also asked the power producing and distribution entities to enhance their managerial capacity in order to help ease the prevailing power problems.
According to official sources, the country's present shortfall in the power supply ranges between 1500 and 2000 megawatt (MW) a day.
The country's total power generation is estimated at 3200MW to 3300MW per day against its demand of over 5000MW, the official mentioned.
Official sources, however, attributed such supply shortfall to the shut-down of a good number of power units due to inadequate supply of natural gas and coal, and also technical problems.
Against this backdrop, the country's overall power crisis had deepened further in recent times, they mentioned.
Considering the situation, the Division has already initiated steps to set up some big power plants in the country both under the government and private sectors.