Businesses warily hail govt decision

Talha Bin Habib Businesses have welcomed the Power Development Board's offer of providing uninterrupted power supply to consumers with guarded optimism. They said if the government supplies non-stop electricity to the export-oriented industries at a 'rational' tariff rate, then it would help ensure smooth productivity as well as on-time shipment. They said smooth supply of power under the new initiative at rational tariff rates would help reduce the additional cost that the industries have to bear due the operations of their captive power generators. Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) has decided to offer uninterrupted power supply to the consumers in the capital at a cost of Tk 13 per unit -- four times higher than the current power tariff. Though the industrialists of the country have termed the decision 'good', they said the newly fixed power tariff rate by the PDB would not help the country's export-oriented industries unless it comes at a rational tariff. "We think the price is high. The export-oriented readymade garment (RMG) industries will not be able to afford the offered power tariff. If the authority concerned fixes a special rate for uninterrupted supply of electricity, then it will reduce production cost and help gear up output," First Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Nasiruddin Chowdhury told the FE Friday. He said that at present an export-oriented garment unit on an average has to pay Tk 0.3 million as monthly power bill. "There should be a special rate for uninterrupted power supply to RMG. The industry cannot afford the newly-offered power rate (at Tk 13 per unit) that will only push the monthly power bill at around Tk 1.0 million (from Tk 0.3 million) per RMG unit and the garment entrepreneurs will not be able to compete with their foreign rivals," he added. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) has also expressed the identical view. "The decision is good. But question remains as to how far it gives benefit to our exports since the offered tariff is too high," First Vice-President of BKMEA Habibur Rahman told the FE on the day. The president of Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy said the initial decision of PDB to supply power to the consumers in the capital is good but the authority should also simultaneously start supplying of electricity to the industries on priority basis at a rational tariff. "The decision taken by the PDB to supply electricity without outage with a higher rate to the consumers is not bad. But there should be uninterrupted supply of power for industry with a special tariff rate," he told the FE Friday. He said that against the backdrop of power crisis most of the industries in the country are now relying on 30 per cent to 40 per cent of electricity that is being generated by captive power generation system using diesel or furnace oil at their respective industrial units for maintaining production. He, however, said the industry owners now have to pay two types of power consumption charges to the supply authorities of the government. During the peak hours, they are charging a tariff twice of that of the off-peak hours. "The price of uninterrupted power supply to the industries should be the same irrespective of peak and off-peak hours of the day," he added.