Power Div in dilemma over solar power provision for new electricity seekers

The Power Division has been in a great dilemma over revising the existing mandatory provision on 'rooftop solar panel installation provision' prior to getting new electricity connection, reports UNB.
Official sources said following a push by the country's real estate developers for deleting the provision, the Power Division started contemplating to bring changes in its existing system.
Some experts and also officials in the renewable energy sector believe it would be detrimental to the growth of the renewable energy sector if the provision is repealed without introducing any alternative provision to promote the renewable energy use.
The existing provision, introduced in 2010, makes it mandatory that if a residential consumer wants to avail an electricity connection having more than 2 kilowatt of load, he must set up rooftop solar panel covering at least 3.0 per cent of his total sanctioned load.
For industrial and commercial consumers, 5.0 per cent of the total light and fan loads must come from rooftop solar panels.
This provision was introduced following a cabinet meeting approval. The main objective of the provision was to promote renewable energy, particularly the solar-generated electricity across the country. But the real estate developers were opposed to the provision.
When Nasrul Hamid, who was president of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab), took charge of the power and energy ministry as a state minister, the real estate developers got a big opportunity to pursue the issue for repealing the mandatory solar power provision.
Responding to their demand, the power ministry convened a meeting to discuss the issue on May 12 where the state minister directed the officials to revise the provision.
In the meeting, the state minister also said that the provision for solar is not a mandatory one. But its application was mandatory to promote renewable energy and diversify energy sources.
In the meeting, the Power Cell, a technical wing of the power ministry, proposed that the mandatory provision could be revised in a way where the new electricity seekers will provide a fund to the government for renewable energy development which could be utilised for promotion of renewable energy in non-grid areas.
This proposal was accepted in the meeting, but when the officials started working on the new proposal, they found that it has a lot of complexity.
An official said the power ministry found that if they want to collect any money on electricity connection purpose, it has to be approved by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission and also by the ministry of finance.
Secondly, the existing solar provision was approved by the cabinet meeting. If the power ministry wants to amend or cancel it, this must be done by another cabinet meeting, which is a tough job.
"So, the whole move of the power ministry faces dilemma. Now, it has become a very hard job for us to change the provision," said an official preferring anonymity.
Additional Secretary of the Power Division Taposh Kumar Roy admitted about the complexity on introducing a new provision to collect additional fund from new electricity connection seekers for renewable energy purpose.