Observance of Electricity Week 2010
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Syed Jamaluddin
THE government of Bangladesh is observing electricity week for the first time from December 08 this year. News papers have brought out supplements on this occasion. The Prime Minister and other dignitaries have given messages. One of the election pledges of this government is to deliver electricity to the people. The observance of the week is aimed at informing the people about government policy and activities in this sector.
The importance of electricity is extremely important in the socio-economic development of a country. The demand for electricity is increasing for agricultural and industrial production and for uplift of the conditions of living the rural people in Bangladesh. Because of inadequate production of electricity in the previous years, there is shortage of power in the country. This is hampering production and investment.
According to government estimate, 48.5 per cent of the people are connected by electricity. Per capita production of power is 236 kilowatt. Every year demand for electricity is going up by 10 per cent. Because of shortage of gas, production of electricity is less by 700 megawatt. Government has taken the initiative to reduce dependence on gas. Plans for production of gas-based electricity, along with production of power, based on duel fuel, diesel, furnace oil, coal and renewable energy have been finalised.
Government has undertaken ambitious plans for production, transmission and distribution of electricity. According to this plan, production of electricity will go up to 11,464 megawatt by 2015 for which an investment of $15 billion will be required. The whole country will be electrified by 2021. There is nothing wrong with optimistic plans but the problem is with implementation.
The Prime Minister in her message has said that during the five-year rule of BNP-Jamaat Jote government and the two-year period of the caretaker government, not even one megawatt of electricity through additional or new power plants, could be produced. Therefore, her government has undertaken short-, medium- and long-term plans for meeting the shortage of electricity. The representatives of the BNP-Jamaat and Caretaker governments will be able to comment on the views of the Prime Minister. But her statement was harsh.
Because of global warming, the government is going to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and trying to utilise renewable energy resources. It has framed rules for this purpose. Five per cent and 10 per cent of new energy will come from renewable sources by 2015 and 2020 respectively. This will be a great achievement. By 2015,500 megawatt of electricity will be produced from renewable sources.
The government signed an agreement with India for import of 250 mw of power from that country. But this power will be available some time in 2012. So the import of electricity from India will not bring any immediate relief from the acute power shortage. The government has also signed agreements for rental power plants without tender for faster production of electricity.
Energy-saving programme has been started by the government. There is free distribution of energy-saving bulbs. It is hoped that there will be considerable amount of energy saving because of this programme. Production of electricity is being encouraged from rice bran, poultry waste and cow dung. Bio-plants are being set up for production of electricity. Technical assistance and financial assistance are being provided for this purpose.
To create awareness about the optimum use of electricity, the power division is organising discussions and exhibition of energy saving tools and leaflets are to be distributed at national and regional levels. It will also inspire the customers to pay electricity bills on time and discourage illegal connection. Awards were given to different groups for saving electricity.
Electricity week began in Chittagong with a deficit of 400 megawatt. The situation has become unbearable for the residents of Chittagong. The situation may take a more serious turn in the next boro season. All power stations are closed in Chittagong because of gas shortage for the last two months. Load shedding is continuing as usual.
Two power plants at Rouzan and the peaking power plant at Sikalbaha are shut down for shortage of gas for the last two months. The production capacity of these plants is 630 megawatt which is equivalent of the demand for power in Chittagong. On the other hand, three units of Kaptai power project are closed and two units are producing only 100 to 120 megawatt. At the moment, Chittagong power supply is dependent on Kaptai project
Coal is an alternative resource which can be utilised for generation of electricity. It is a pity that coal is lying under ground. and we are suffering from shortage of power. The government is marking time and is not taking any decision for utilisation of coal. It is not in a position to declare a coal policy. The government should act in this regard sooner rather than later.
It will be difficult for Bangladesh to attract foreign investment before solving the power crisis. The economy can not rebound as long as gas and power crises continue. During the observance of the electricity week, there was no explicit statement from either the govt. or the Power Development Board (PDB) as to when load shedding will be eliminated. According to the finance minister, the government hopes to strike a balance between demand and supply of power by 2013. There are doubts if load shedding will be eliminated during the current tenure of the government. However, the government has promised to try to keep load shedding to a minimum level to mitigate sufferings of the people.
The writer is an economist and columnist. He can be reached at e-mail: syedjamaluddin22@yahoo.com
THE government of Bangladesh is observing electricity week for the first time from December 08 this year. News papers have brought out supplements on this occasion. The Prime Minister and other dignitaries have given messages. One of the election pledges of this government is to deliver electricity to the people. The observance of the week is aimed at informing the people about government policy and activities in this sector.
The importance of electricity is extremely important in the socio-economic development of a country. The demand for electricity is increasing for agricultural and industrial production and for uplift of the conditions of living the rural people in Bangladesh. Because of inadequate production of electricity in the previous years, there is shortage of power in the country. This is hampering production and investment.
According to government estimate, 48.5 per cent of the people are connected by electricity. Per capita production of power is 236 kilowatt. Every year demand for electricity is going up by 10 per cent. Because of shortage of gas, production of electricity is less by 700 megawatt. Government has taken the initiative to reduce dependence on gas. Plans for production of gas-based electricity, along with production of power, based on duel fuel, diesel, furnace oil, coal and renewable energy have been finalised.
Government has undertaken ambitious plans for production, transmission and distribution of electricity. According to this plan, production of electricity will go up to 11,464 megawatt by 2015 for which an investment of $15 billion will be required. The whole country will be electrified by 2021. There is nothing wrong with optimistic plans but the problem is with implementation.
The Prime Minister in her message has said that during the five-year rule of BNP-Jamaat Jote government and the two-year period of the caretaker government, not even one megawatt of electricity through additional or new power plants, could be produced. Therefore, her government has undertaken short-, medium- and long-term plans for meeting the shortage of electricity. The representatives of the BNP-Jamaat and Caretaker governments will be able to comment on the views of the Prime Minister. But her statement was harsh.
Because of global warming, the government is going to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and trying to utilise renewable energy resources. It has framed rules for this purpose. Five per cent and 10 per cent of new energy will come from renewable sources by 2015 and 2020 respectively. This will be a great achievement. By 2015,500 megawatt of electricity will be produced from renewable sources.
The government signed an agreement with India for import of 250 mw of power from that country. But this power will be available some time in 2012. So the import of electricity from India will not bring any immediate relief from the acute power shortage. The government has also signed agreements for rental power plants without tender for faster production of electricity.
Energy-saving programme has been started by the government. There is free distribution of energy-saving bulbs. It is hoped that there will be considerable amount of energy saving because of this programme. Production of electricity is being encouraged from rice bran, poultry waste and cow dung. Bio-plants are being set up for production of electricity. Technical assistance and financial assistance are being provided for this purpose.
To create awareness about the optimum use of electricity, the power division is organising discussions and exhibition of energy saving tools and leaflets are to be distributed at national and regional levels. It will also inspire the customers to pay electricity bills on time and discourage illegal connection. Awards were given to different groups for saving electricity.
Electricity week began in Chittagong with a deficit of 400 megawatt. The situation has become unbearable for the residents of Chittagong. The situation may take a more serious turn in the next boro season. All power stations are closed in Chittagong because of gas shortage for the last two months. Load shedding is continuing as usual.
Two power plants at Rouzan and the peaking power plant at Sikalbaha are shut down for shortage of gas for the last two months. The production capacity of these plants is 630 megawatt which is equivalent of the demand for power in Chittagong. On the other hand, three units of Kaptai power project are closed and two units are producing only 100 to 120 megawatt. At the moment, Chittagong power supply is dependent on Kaptai project
Coal is an alternative resource which can be utilised for generation of electricity. It is a pity that coal is lying under ground. and we are suffering from shortage of power. The government is marking time and is not taking any decision for utilisation of coal. It is not in a position to declare a coal policy. The government should act in this regard sooner rather than later.
It will be difficult for Bangladesh to attract foreign investment before solving the power crisis. The economy can not rebound as long as gas and power crises continue. During the observance of the electricity week, there was no explicit statement from either the govt. or the Power Development Board (PDB) as to when load shedding will be eliminated. According to the finance minister, the government hopes to strike a balance between demand and supply of power by 2013. There are doubts if load shedding will be eliminated during the current tenure of the government. However, the government has promised to try to keep load shedding to a minimum level to mitigate sufferings of the people.
The writer is an economist and columnist. He can be reached at e-mail: syedjamaluddin22@yahoo.com