Power Div fails to finalise updated policy on failure to pick supervisor
FE Report | Thursday, 17 March 2011
FE Report
The Power Division has failed to finalise the updated merchant power plant policy Wednesday due to disagreement over fixing a supervising authority for the power business to be carried out by the private sector directly targeting the consumers, officials said. A senior Power Division official said they would sit for another discussion to resolve the issues of finalising the policy. The debate ensued when the proposed policy recommended assigning the state-owned Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Centre (IIFC) with the task of supervising the power supply by merchant power plants. "The PDB (Power Development Board) has strongly protested the proposal. It recommended appointment of a power sector-based government agency to supervise the electricity business," a senior Power Division official told the FE. The PDB has also expressed its reservation about the proposed 15-year power purchase provision by the government. It has suggested bringing down the time of power purchase from private power producers to 5 years against the 15 years' provision. The Power Division held a meeting Wednesday with different state-owned power sector agencies to finalise an updated policy, in which the new investors will be allowed to sell electricity directly to the consumers after generating power. Under the proposed policy, the merchant power plant holders will be able to sell 70 per cent electricity of its total generation to consumers. Besides, the government will purchase 30 per cent electricity from the power plants under a purchase deal for 15 years. Breaking the government's monopolistic electricity business, particularly in the distribution sector, the new policy will enable the private sponsors to make their own arrangements for fuel and select their own customers, the Power Division officials said. Against the backdrop of mounting energy crisis, especially caused by the crunch of natural gas, the government has decided to update the merchant power plant policy to avert the desperate struggle for arranging fuel for the power generators and reduce the subsidy component. The government believes that there is a huge potential for commercial power business in Bangladesh as many private entrepreneurs want to set up plants and sell electricity to consumers against the acute energy demand in Bangladesh. The Power Division officials said they are expecting some 3000 megwatt of electricity generation within the next three years, once the policy is updated. Bangladesh is one of the energy-starved countries, where the electricity demand growth is nearly 10 pert cent per year. The government can supply nearly 4000mw of power against the demand for more than 5500mw a day.
The Power Division has failed to finalise the updated merchant power plant policy Wednesday due to disagreement over fixing a supervising authority for the power business to be carried out by the private sector directly targeting the consumers, officials said. A senior Power Division official said they would sit for another discussion to resolve the issues of finalising the policy. The debate ensued when the proposed policy recommended assigning the state-owned Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Centre (IIFC) with the task of supervising the power supply by merchant power plants. "The PDB (Power Development Board) has strongly protested the proposal. It recommended appointment of a power sector-based government agency to supervise the electricity business," a senior Power Division official told the FE. The PDB has also expressed its reservation about the proposed 15-year power purchase provision by the government. It has suggested bringing down the time of power purchase from private power producers to 5 years against the 15 years' provision. The Power Division held a meeting Wednesday with different state-owned power sector agencies to finalise an updated policy, in which the new investors will be allowed to sell electricity directly to the consumers after generating power. Under the proposed policy, the merchant power plant holders will be able to sell 70 per cent electricity of its total generation to consumers. Besides, the government will purchase 30 per cent electricity from the power plants under a purchase deal for 15 years. Breaking the government's monopolistic electricity business, particularly in the distribution sector, the new policy will enable the private sponsors to make their own arrangements for fuel and select their own customers, the Power Division officials said. Against the backdrop of mounting energy crisis, especially caused by the crunch of natural gas, the government has decided to update the merchant power plant policy to avert the desperate struggle for arranging fuel for the power generators and reduce the subsidy component. The government believes that there is a huge potential for commercial power business in Bangladesh as many private entrepreneurs want to set up plants and sell electricity to consumers against the acute energy demand in Bangladesh. The Power Division officials said they are expecting some 3000 megwatt of electricity generation within the next three years, once the policy is updated. Bangladesh is one of the energy-starved countries, where the electricity demand growth is nearly 10 pert cent per year. The government can supply nearly 4000mw of power against the demand for more than 5500mw a day.