All-out action needed in the power sector
Monday, 27 October 2008
THE power sector has been a neglected in Bangladesh for over a decade when it called for priority attention. Power is the life-blood of all economic activities for production and distribution. It is also at the heart of different everyday indispensable services. There is no excuse for the stagnation in the power sector.
Experts have been suggesting all-out measures to increase power generation to match the growing demand. But there is a serious mismatch between power production and demand. Without building several big power plants at the soonest, the growing demand cannot be met in the near future. The rickety condition of power transmission lines is also a cause of concern.
Experts have been suggesting for the repair and rehabilitation, and adding to, the transmission and maintenance capacities to avert massive power failures. The GDP can be several percentage points higher with a better functioning power sector. This would be no small gain for one of the world's poorest countries.
It has recently been estimated that power outages and the inefficiencies of the power sector led to losses of over a billion dollars for the national economy. The amount is one-fifth of the current foreign currency reserve of the country and should highlight the great wastage the national economy has to sustain due to the power factor. There is a pressing need to improve the power sector. The number and frequency of power failures, specially in industrial or commercial areas need to be brought down. Old transmission or distribution systems need to be overhauled. Generation capacity also needs to be increased.
M A Rahim
Eskaton, Dhaka
Experts have been suggesting all-out measures to increase power generation to match the growing demand. But there is a serious mismatch between power production and demand. Without building several big power plants at the soonest, the growing demand cannot be met in the near future. The rickety condition of power transmission lines is also a cause of concern.
Experts have been suggesting for the repair and rehabilitation, and adding to, the transmission and maintenance capacities to avert massive power failures. The GDP can be several percentage points higher with a better functioning power sector. This would be no small gain for one of the world's poorest countries.
It has recently been estimated that power outages and the inefficiencies of the power sector led to losses of over a billion dollars for the national economy. The amount is one-fifth of the current foreign currency reserve of the country and should highlight the great wastage the national economy has to sustain due to the power factor. There is a pressing need to improve the power sector. The number and frequency of power failures, specially in industrial or commercial areas need to be brought down. Old transmission or distribution systems need to be overhauled. Generation capacity also needs to be increased.
M A Rahim
Eskaton, Dhaka