Address the needs for power urgently
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Mohammad Mohsin
POWER is the life-blood of an economy everywhere and Bangladesh can be no exception to this rule. But the gap between the demand for power and its supply continues to be alarming in the context of Bangladesh. Apart from the sufferings of household consumers of power, the more worrying and shattering effects of the inadequacy of power are seen in the state of underproduction in industries and the blighted conditions in the services sector. Thus, the existing industries and services are getting hard pressed to maintain their activities at a reasonable level from the power shortage. Furthermore, all hopes of sustaining the vital economic growth at 6.0 per cent or above, are getting frustrated from just not having enough power to feed the new industries and services that have already come into existence in different parts of the country. Potential investors in industries and services in many cases are also holding up their investment operations from not finding any assurance that power supply would indeed improve in the short and medium terms.
This situation is full of the worst implication for the economy as a whole. Economic growth is central to addressing the problems of poverty, unemployment and lack of income. These hard realities must be taken into serious consideration by the government without any loss of time. All concerned circles have, time and again, underscored the importance of giving the highest priority attention to the power sector. Suggestions have also been put forward by the businesses and all others for making appropriate allocations in the coming national budget for development of the power sector and budgetary supports in other areas that would facilitate greater power availability through harnessing coal and gas for power production. There is no denying that the biggest challenge confronting the Bangladesh economy today is power insufficiency. The government should deploy its maximum strengths and resources -- as far as possible -- to overcome or limit this challenge preferably in the short- and medium-terms.
What the government should be doing with no loss of time for effectively addressing the shortest term needs of power, is executing of a plan that was recommended sometime ago to conserve the use of power. The recommendations were for bringing shutters down in the big shopping malls by 7.0 am, cutting off power supply to neon signs and similar publicities, starting office work one hour earlier, ordering greater use of generators to run air conditioners and arranging power supply to the national grid from captive power producers (CPPs), wherever possible. Government must not waste more time in examining, again and again, the various sides to these suggestions but should work forthright to implement them at the soonest.
With real enthusiasm and working to a time-bound schedule, the existing power generating plants under the Power Development Board (PDB) that remain shut down from lack of repairs and maintenance, these should be made serviceable at the fastest. It should be also tried similarly to boost gas supplies to generating plants that use gas to produce power. Every effort must be made to get the addition of some 750 mw of power to the grid from small power plants that are reportedly in various stages of construction. Only from timely completion of the above activities, the short-term needs of power can be reasonably met and power-related sufferings can be mitigated amply.
POWER is the life-blood of an economy everywhere and Bangladesh can be no exception to this rule. But the gap between the demand for power and its supply continues to be alarming in the context of Bangladesh. Apart from the sufferings of household consumers of power, the more worrying and shattering effects of the inadequacy of power are seen in the state of underproduction in industries and the blighted conditions in the services sector. Thus, the existing industries and services are getting hard pressed to maintain their activities at a reasonable level from the power shortage. Furthermore, all hopes of sustaining the vital economic growth at 6.0 per cent or above, are getting frustrated from just not having enough power to feed the new industries and services that have already come into existence in different parts of the country. Potential investors in industries and services in many cases are also holding up their investment operations from not finding any assurance that power supply would indeed improve in the short and medium terms.
This situation is full of the worst implication for the economy as a whole. Economic growth is central to addressing the problems of poverty, unemployment and lack of income. These hard realities must be taken into serious consideration by the government without any loss of time. All concerned circles have, time and again, underscored the importance of giving the highest priority attention to the power sector. Suggestions have also been put forward by the businesses and all others for making appropriate allocations in the coming national budget for development of the power sector and budgetary supports in other areas that would facilitate greater power availability through harnessing coal and gas for power production. There is no denying that the biggest challenge confronting the Bangladesh economy today is power insufficiency. The government should deploy its maximum strengths and resources -- as far as possible -- to overcome or limit this challenge preferably in the short- and medium-terms.
What the government should be doing with no loss of time for effectively addressing the shortest term needs of power, is executing of a plan that was recommended sometime ago to conserve the use of power. The recommendations were for bringing shutters down in the big shopping malls by 7.0 am, cutting off power supply to neon signs and similar publicities, starting office work one hour earlier, ordering greater use of generators to run air conditioners and arranging power supply to the national grid from captive power producers (CPPs), wherever possible. Government must not waste more time in examining, again and again, the various sides to these suggestions but should work forthright to implement them at the soonest.
With real enthusiasm and working to a time-bound schedule, the existing power generating plants under the Power Development Board (PDB) that remain shut down from lack of repairs and maintenance, these should be made serviceable at the fastest. It should be also tried similarly to boost gas supplies to generating plants that use gas to produce power. Every effort must be made to get the addition of some 750 mw of power to the grid from small power plants that are reportedly in various stages of construction. Only from timely completion of the above activities, the short-term needs of power can be reasonably met and power-related sufferings can be mitigated amply.