City flats will get conditional power connections

FE Report The government will provide new power connections to the flats in the capital having a demand of two or three kilowatt each till 2012 for necessary household needs only excepting use of air conditioners, washing machines and other luxury items. Power Cell Director General Mahboob Sarwar-E-Kainat said: "The real estate companies or house owners will get power connections and till 2012, they will be provided only two or three kilowatt power against their household demand." He said: "We have added 2500 megawatts more electricity in the national grid in the last three years and we are hopeful that the load shedding problem will be resolved by 2012 as we are taking various steps to improve the situation. So we have to be power savers to create opportunity for others." He disclosed these to the reporters after a meeting on power connections to flats between the Power Cell of Power Division and Real Estate Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) leaders at Bidyut Bhaban in the city Thursday. He said: "We have started providing power connections in a small scale since March this year with a condition of setting up solar system. The solar system got popularity in the last few years as around 1.0 million solar systems are in use across the country." He added that the realtors or house owners would have to give written agreement before getting power connections that they would not use air conditioners at this moment of power crunch. They will get the approval as per their sanctioned load of electricity, he further said. REHAB general secretary said: "We have demanded withdrawal of the condition to set up solar power system for the already completed apartments as there is no space to install solar plant on the rooftop." He said: "Around 16,000 flats are ready but we can't sell those due to lack of power connections and around another 22,000 flats will be ready by the end of this year. So we have urged the government to rescind the condition of setting up solar power system." REHAB vice- president Abdur Rahim Khan said: "The realtors are facing tough time as there is no sale of flats. If the situation continues, it will turn into an economic disaster for them." He sought government's cooperation to tackle the situation by giving new power connections.