Govt to open up fuel import to pvt sector

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M Azizur Rahman
The government is set to open up fuel import to the private sector to facilitate installation of new power plants by entrepreneurs in the sector under the proposed Merchant Power Plant policy, officials said.
Private sector entrepreneurs interested to set up power plants under the new policy would be allowed to import any kind of fuel like petroleum, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, coal, naphtha, furnace oil or condensate to feed their plants, said a senior power ministry official.
Currently, fuel import is restricted to the public sector, specifically to the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
The private sector entrepreneurs requiring fuel to run businesses or for any other purpose purchase it from the BPC.
'We are thinking of allowing private entrepreneurs to import fuel from abroad to meet their requirements in the new power plants to be set up under the proposed merchant power plant policy,' power secretary Dr M Fouzul Kabir Khan told the FE Thursday.
He said the imported fuel must have to be used in the power plants of the entrepreneurs concerned.
Due to an acute natural gas crisis, the caretaker government recently took steps to set up power plants in the private sector where the entrepreneurs concerned would be free to arrange their own fuel to run their plants.
The entrepreneurs would also be free to find their own buyers for the power generated and be free to negotiate and charge tariff for their power under the proposed merchant power policy.
They would also be allowed to have access to transmission lines of the state-owned entities in exchange for payment of the agreed wheeling charges to the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB).
The proposed policy would put an end to the existing single buyer system in the country's power sector.
Currently, the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) purchases electricity from all power producers, both public and private, and sells to the distribution companies through which it reaches the retail subscribers.
The government is giving the sponsors of the proposed merchant power plants the liberty to woo private sector investors and develop public-private partnership in the country's ailing power sector.
Currently the country is reeling under an acute electricity crisis as the electricity generation is hovering around 3500 megawatts (MW) against the demand for over 5,500 MW.
Generation of another 800 MW is now being hampered only due to the severe gas crisis, apart from the stalled gas-fired power plant projects.
Scores of industries now remain shut mainly due to the electricity crisis and many more are counting huge losses after spending on installation of back-up generators in their factories, industry insiders said.
The power ministry has already drafted the merchant power policy and sought comments from the stakeholders.
'We've already held discussions with the stakeholders over the draft policy and asked them to make comments and suggestions, if any,' the power secretary said regarding adoption of the new policy
He said an inter-ministerial meeting would be arranged soon to finalise the draft policy act incorporating necessary suggestions from the stakeholders.
The final draft of the policy would be sent to the council of advisers for their nod, he added.