The dreaded twins
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
POWER and gas have been on the media focus for more than two decades. The intensity of mass discussion on both power and gas has increased over the years because of the ever-increasing gap between the demand for, and supply of, the same. However, the power sector has been receiving greater prominence in every discussion since the situation thereof has become rather critical because of the neglect and indifference on the part of the successive governments, the immediate past political one being the worst performer. Barring the winter season, the people are being subjected to untold sufferings due to load-shedding that turns severe during the summer.
If the power supply position at the very onset of this year's summer season provides any indication about the likely situation in the days ahead, there should be valid reasons for the power subscribers to be really worried about. The total power supply shortfall, according to a report published in the FE, was 1100 megawatt last Sunday. The Dhaka city alone had to experience power load-shedding to the extent of 500 megawatt on the day. The summer heat is now within the tolerable limit and the mercury in all likelihood would start going up within the next couple of weeks, leading to higher power consumption. Students who will be appearing at the secondary school certificate examination, which remains only days away, are the victims of frequent load-shedding. The HSC examinees are also facing a similar situation.
The power sector is, actually, beset with problems of divergent nature. Mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption reigned supreme until recently. But there is no magic formula to improve the situation overnight since installation of new power plants is capital intensive as well as time-consuming. The incumbent government has taken steps to install small power plans through private initiatives and get supplies from rental power stations. But installation of small power plants would take a little bit of time and the power to be available from the rental plants thereof is unlikely to make any tangible difference to the prevailing situation. If implemented, a number of big power projects that the government has undertaken with the assistance of multilateral donors, mainly the Asian Development Bank (ADB), would help improve the power situation remarkably.
But the prevailing scenario in the gas sector proves to be a damper on the prospects for installation of gas-based big power plants. Already, because of gas supply constraints, ten power plants are operating below their individual generation capacities, leading to a 564 megawatt power-supply shortfall to the national grid. However, the special assistant to the chief adviser is optimistic about slight improvement in power situation next month when gas, now being consumed by the fertiliser factories, would be diverted to power plants in greater volumes. Until and unless the country discovers new gas reserves, it would be foolhardy of the government to go for setting up new large gas-based power plants. Rather, it would be wise enough to install coal-fired power plants as many as possible since the country is blessed with adequate quantities of high-grade coal reserves. The prospects for setting up a couple of nuclear power plants also need to be seriously examined.
If the power supply position at the very onset of this year's summer season provides any indication about the likely situation in the days ahead, there should be valid reasons for the power subscribers to be really worried about. The total power supply shortfall, according to a report published in the FE, was 1100 megawatt last Sunday. The Dhaka city alone had to experience power load-shedding to the extent of 500 megawatt on the day. The summer heat is now within the tolerable limit and the mercury in all likelihood would start going up within the next couple of weeks, leading to higher power consumption. Students who will be appearing at the secondary school certificate examination, which remains only days away, are the victims of frequent load-shedding. The HSC examinees are also facing a similar situation.
The power sector is, actually, beset with problems of divergent nature. Mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption reigned supreme until recently. But there is no magic formula to improve the situation overnight since installation of new power plants is capital intensive as well as time-consuming. The incumbent government has taken steps to install small power plans through private initiatives and get supplies from rental power stations. But installation of small power plants would take a little bit of time and the power to be available from the rental plants thereof is unlikely to make any tangible difference to the prevailing situation. If implemented, a number of big power projects that the government has undertaken with the assistance of multilateral donors, mainly the Asian Development Bank (ADB), would help improve the power situation remarkably.
But the prevailing scenario in the gas sector proves to be a damper on the prospects for installation of gas-based big power plants. Already, because of gas supply constraints, ten power plants are operating below their individual generation capacities, leading to a 564 megawatt power-supply shortfall to the national grid. However, the special assistant to the chief adviser is optimistic about slight improvement in power situation next month when gas, now being consumed by the fertiliser factories, would be diverted to power plants in greater volumes. Until and unless the country discovers new gas reserves, it would be foolhardy of the government to go for setting up new large gas-based power plants. Rather, it would be wise enough to install coal-fired power plants as many as possible since the country is blessed with adequate quantities of high-grade coal reserves. The prospects for setting up a couple of nuclear power plants also need to be seriously examined.