Electricity production growth declines
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Power generation growth declined to 5.8 per cent at the fag end of the caretaker government, although the average generation growth remained higher especially after the addition of 1300 megawatt to the national grid in 1998, reports BSS.
Power Development board sources said, despite different constraints the authorities during the last eight months could push up the growth rate to 6.8 per cent, which was near to seven per cent, the average growth rate since nineties with different reform initiatives.
A source at the PDB said, if the nation wants to increase our GDP growth from around 6 per cent then it needed to increase our generation growth by 8.5 per cent to 9 per cent to cope with the pace.
“Power is the key to all success, through which we could change our life and livelihood but due to certain constraints like non-significant addition to power generation by the successive governments in the grid lines and non-availability of fuel also created impediment to the generation growth”, Alamgir Kabir, chairman of PDB told the news agency.
Echoing Alamgir’s statement the ADB’s quarterly release said, “growth in the power and gas sub-sectors dropped to 4.5 per cent in FY2009 from 6.8 per cent in FY2008.”
To combat the situation the government has already taken up some long term, midterm and short term package programmes to boost the allying power sector that needed US $ 6 billion.
“However, to run the show we suggested the government to rationalise the present tariff structure or allocate special fund to the PDB to pay the bill of the private players in the upcoming days”, the PDB chairman said.
According to PDB the existing bulk tariff rate is Tk 2.45 per unit of electricity. The private players need to increase the bulk tariff rate payment rate to Tk 2.66, the source projected.
“We have to increase power tariff from Tk 2.66 to Tk 3.22 by 2010, Tk 3.22 to Tk 4.61 in 2011 and Tk 3.22 to Tk 4.70 by 2012 at bulk level and after that the tariff would be declined gradually,” he pointed out.
“It would become steady at Tk 3.38 per unit at bulk level, however, we need to rationalise our present tariff structure, otherwise we would not be able to ensure the sustainable growth of the sector”, Alamgir Kabir said.
Power Development board sources said, despite different constraints the authorities during the last eight months could push up the growth rate to 6.8 per cent, which was near to seven per cent, the average growth rate since nineties with different reform initiatives.
A source at the PDB said, if the nation wants to increase our GDP growth from around 6 per cent then it needed to increase our generation growth by 8.5 per cent to 9 per cent to cope with the pace.
“Power is the key to all success, through which we could change our life and livelihood but due to certain constraints like non-significant addition to power generation by the successive governments in the grid lines and non-availability of fuel also created impediment to the generation growth”, Alamgir Kabir, chairman of PDB told the news agency.
Echoing Alamgir’s statement the ADB’s quarterly release said, “growth in the power and gas sub-sectors dropped to 4.5 per cent in FY2009 from 6.8 per cent in FY2008.”
To combat the situation the government has already taken up some long term, midterm and short term package programmes to boost the allying power sector that needed US $ 6 billion.
“However, to run the show we suggested the government to rationalise the present tariff structure or allocate special fund to the PDB to pay the bill of the private players in the upcoming days”, the PDB chairman said.
According to PDB the existing bulk tariff rate is Tk 2.45 per unit of electricity. The private players need to increase the bulk tariff rate payment rate to Tk 2.66, the source projected.
“We have to increase power tariff from Tk 2.66 to Tk 3.22 by 2010, Tk 3.22 to Tk 4.61 in 2011 and Tk 3.22 to Tk 4.70 by 2012 at bulk level and after that the tariff would be declined gradually,” he pointed out.
“It would become steady at Tk 3.38 per unit at bulk level, however, we need to rationalise our present tariff structure, otherwise we would not be able to ensure the sustainable growth of the sector”, Alamgir Kabir said.