Power situation may be normal in a day or two
Sunday, 18 November 2007
M Azizur Rahman
A significant number of production units in different sectors, including those of the highest export earning ready-made garment (RMG) sector, is now out of operation due to inadequate electricity supply across the country.
The industries that have captive power plants and generators are, however, continuing production in a limited scale, businessmen said.
When, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mir Nasir Hossain said the disruption of power generation, caused by the severe cyclone that hit the coastal districts Thursday night, is hampering industrial production across the country.
The industries that are solely dependent on the electricity from the state-owned power distribution companies have been affected badly, the FBCCI president said.
"As I have a captive power plant having the generation capacity of two megawatts in the factory premises I can run my industry partially," said Mir Nasir Hossain, who owns the Mir Ceramics factory.
He, however, said that the government is trying its best to restore the electricity generation across the country.
"Production in the RMG sector is being hampered badly due to the electricity disruptions," said president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez.
He said the garment owners might miss the deadline for shipment of the RMG items to their respective destinations if the countrywide electricity disruption continues for long.
"The sector is set to lose Tk 1.94 billion a day due to disruption in RMG production," Parvez said.
The government Saturday evening said the generation of electricity is getting back to normalcy.
"Till 4:0 in the evening electricity generation across the country reached 1900 megawatts (MW)," the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Chairman Md Shawkat Ali told the newsmen at a press conference Saturday evening.
The BPDB chairman hoped that total electricity generation would rise up to 2700 MW tonight (Saturday) with the initiation of electricity generation from 210MW Ghorashal Power Plant, 450MW Meghnaghat Power Plant and 360MW Haripur Power Plant.
"We have been been able to restore 98 percent of the total power generation and transmission across the country, except Barguna, Pirojpur, Bagerhat, Mongla, hit hardest by the hurricane," he claimed.
The entire electricity situation will get back to normalcy across the country in a day or two, he assured.
The country's total electricity demand during Saturday's peak hours is 2900MW, the BPDB chairman said.
He also said that the electricity distribution system in the cyclone-affected southern region was disrupted resulting in the suspension of power supply in those areas.
Electricity generations in those areas will be restored after the repair of the distribution system, he assured.
"Some 29 Palli Biddut Samities (PBSs), 56 sub-stations and 25 electricity towers were affected in the Rural Electrification Board (REB) areas across the country," REB Chairman Habib Ullah Majumder said at the press conference.
He said some 1,722 electric poles broke down and 7,679 more were affected by the cyclone.
A total of 365 teams are now working across the country to repair the damage, he said
A control room has also been opened to monitor the rehabilitation activities.
During Thursday's cyclone SIDR almost all parts of Bangladesh plunge into darkness without electricity as the national power grid tripped twice.
Terming it as the worst disaster in the power sector, the BPDB chairman said the state-owned power entities are trying their level best to restore power generation across the country.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) chairman Saleh Ahmed said his company is supplying the available electricity to its clients.
A significant number of production units in different sectors, including those of the highest export earning ready-made garment (RMG) sector, is now out of operation due to inadequate electricity supply across the country.
The industries that have captive power plants and generators are, however, continuing production in a limited scale, businessmen said.
When, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mir Nasir Hossain said the disruption of power generation, caused by the severe cyclone that hit the coastal districts Thursday night, is hampering industrial production across the country.
The industries that are solely dependent on the electricity from the state-owned power distribution companies have been affected badly, the FBCCI president said.
"As I have a captive power plant having the generation capacity of two megawatts in the factory premises I can run my industry partially," said Mir Nasir Hossain, who owns the Mir Ceramics factory.
He, however, said that the government is trying its best to restore the electricity generation across the country.
"Production in the RMG sector is being hampered badly due to the electricity disruptions," said president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez.
He said the garment owners might miss the deadline for shipment of the RMG items to their respective destinations if the countrywide electricity disruption continues for long.
"The sector is set to lose Tk 1.94 billion a day due to disruption in RMG production," Parvez said.
The government Saturday evening said the generation of electricity is getting back to normalcy.
"Till 4:0 in the evening electricity generation across the country reached 1900 megawatts (MW)," the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Chairman Md Shawkat Ali told the newsmen at a press conference Saturday evening.
The BPDB chairman hoped that total electricity generation would rise up to 2700 MW tonight (Saturday) with the initiation of electricity generation from 210MW Ghorashal Power Plant, 450MW Meghnaghat Power Plant and 360MW Haripur Power Plant.
"We have been been able to restore 98 percent of the total power generation and transmission across the country, except Barguna, Pirojpur, Bagerhat, Mongla, hit hardest by the hurricane," he claimed.
The entire electricity situation will get back to normalcy across the country in a day or two, he assured.
The country's total electricity demand during Saturday's peak hours is 2900MW, the BPDB chairman said.
He also said that the electricity distribution system in the cyclone-affected southern region was disrupted resulting in the suspension of power supply in those areas.
Electricity generations in those areas will be restored after the repair of the distribution system, he assured.
"Some 29 Palli Biddut Samities (PBSs), 56 sub-stations and 25 electricity towers were affected in the Rural Electrification Board (REB) areas across the country," REB Chairman Habib Ullah Majumder said at the press conference.
He said some 1,722 electric poles broke down and 7,679 more were affected by the cyclone.
A total of 365 teams are now working across the country to repair the damage, he said
A control room has also been opened to monitor the rehabilitation activities.
During Thursday's cyclone SIDR almost all parts of Bangladesh plunge into darkness without electricity as the national power grid tripped twice.
Terming it as the worst disaster in the power sector, the BPDB chairman said the state-owned power entities are trying their level best to restore power generation across the country.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) chairman Saleh Ahmed said his company is supplying the available electricity to its clients.