BERC extends time again for captive power plant licences
Saturday, 1 August 2009
FE Report
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has once again extended the time for obtaining operating licenses by owners of captive/standby electricity generators for one month as nearly one-third of operators are yet to comply with the mandatory provision.
It has set October 31, 2009 as the new deadline for operators of captive power generators, who are yet to comply with the mandatory licencing provision to obtain licences, a BERC official told the FE.
With this the BERC has so far deferred its timeframe at least on six occasions since it first served a public notice on January 30 2008, making obtaining of licenses mandatory for the users of captive/stand-by generators.
"We have further extended the time limit as nearly one-third of the country's captive operators, according to a survey, have not yet applied for licences," said the official.
Referring to the survey conducted in 2008, he said there are around 2000 captive power units in the country having a total generation capacity of nearly 1700 megawatt (mw).
Of the total, about 1300 operators applied for obtaining operating licences until the last deadline that expired on July 31, 2009, said a senior BERC official.
The official further said owners of nearly 800 captive generators, having electricity generation capacity below 1.0mw, have sought withdrawal of licence fees while the remaining 500 with generation capacity of 1.0mw and above applied for licences.
According to the existing rules, operators of both captive and standby generators, having generation capacity of above and below 1.0mw, are required to obtain operating licenses from the BERC.
Besides, there has also been a provision for renewal of such operating licences annually with payment of certain amount of fees.
But the BERC has initiated a process to bring about some changes in its existing rules and regulations in order to rationalise both the operating licence and renewal fees following demands of the country's trade bodies and users concerned.
"We have initiated to modify the BERC Licence Regulations 2006 for the sake of rationalising the existing fees both for issuance and renewal of operating licences of captive and stand-by generators," a senior BERC official told the FE.
To this effect, the Commission has already prepared a draft BERC Licence (amendment) Regulations 2009, said the official.
Under the proposed amendments, a uniform fee of Tk 500,000 has been fixed for obtaining an operating licence for all types of captive and stand-by generators, said an official.
Besides, the annual renewal fee of operating licences has been proposed to be Tk 50,000 for each fraction of unit exceeding one megawatt (mw), the BERC said.
But the annual renewal fees, according to the proposal, would be capped at Tk 500,000.
Under the existing provision, a fixed amount of Tk 500,000 is leviable for the renewal of operating licenses of captive or stand-by generators, having generation capacity of 1.0mw and above.
Captive power generators, having capacity below 1.0mw, have been exempted from the payment of annual renewal fees in the proposed regulation. But, their users will require to pay Tk 2000 for obligating operating licences from the BERC, an official said.
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has once again extended the time for obtaining operating licenses by owners of captive/standby electricity generators for one month as nearly one-third of operators are yet to comply with the mandatory provision.
It has set October 31, 2009 as the new deadline for operators of captive power generators, who are yet to comply with the mandatory licencing provision to obtain licences, a BERC official told the FE.
With this the BERC has so far deferred its timeframe at least on six occasions since it first served a public notice on January 30 2008, making obtaining of licenses mandatory for the users of captive/stand-by generators.
"We have further extended the time limit as nearly one-third of the country's captive operators, according to a survey, have not yet applied for licences," said the official.
Referring to the survey conducted in 2008, he said there are around 2000 captive power units in the country having a total generation capacity of nearly 1700 megawatt (mw).
Of the total, about 1300 operators applied for obtaining operating licences until the last deadline that expired on July 31, 2009, said a senior BERC official.
The official further said owners of nearly 800 captive generators, having electricity generation capacity below 1.0mw, have sought withdrawal of licence fees while the remaining 500 with generation capacity of 1.0mw and above applied for licences.
According to the existing rules, operators of both captive and standby generators, having generation capacity of above and below 1.0mw, are required to obtain operating licenses from the BERC.
Besides, there has also been a provision for renewal of such operating licences annually with payment of certain amount of fees.
But the BERC has initiated a process to bring about some changes in its existing rules and regulations in order to rationalise both the operating licence and renewal fees following demands of the country's trade bodies and users concerned.
"We have initiated to modify the BERC Licence Regulations 2006 for the sake of rationalising the existing fees both for issuance and renewal of operating licences of captive and stand-by generators," a senior BERC official told the FE.
To this effect, the Commission has already prepared a draft BERC Licence (amendment) Regulations 2009, said the official.
Under the proposed amendments, a uniform fee of Tk 500,000 has been fixed for obtaining an operating licence for all types of captive and stand-by generators, said an official.
Besides, the annual renewal fee of operating licences has been proposed to be Tk 50,000 for each fraction of unit exceeding one megawatt (mw), the BERC said.
But the annual renewal fees, according to the proposal, would be capped at Tk 500,000.
Under the existing provision, a fixed amount of Tk 500,000 is leviable for the renewal of operating licenses of captive or stand-by generators, having generation capacity of 1.0mw and above.
Captive power generators, having capacity below 1.0mw, have been exempted from the payment of annual renewal fees in the proposed regulation. But, their users will require to pay Tk 2000 for obligating operating licences from the BERC, an official said.