Tough terms for new power connections
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Shahiduzzaman Khan
AFTER a break of nearly eight months, the government is scheduled to start giving new electricity connections to the consumers. But the conditions set for getting new connections are so rigid that consumers can hardly meet those. To get new connections, use of solar power for residential and commercial consumers has been made mandatory.
Household electricity consumers need to produce 3.0 per cent solar power against 3.0 kilowatt power, if they want to get new connections. Commercial and industrial consumers will have to produce 7.0 per cent solar power for using power above 50 kw for electric light and fan. Readymade garment (RMG) units will have to use at least 5.0 per cent solar power for fans and lights.
After passing so many deadlines for new connections, the Power Division had earlier planned to provide new power connection from November 1, but the move was again halted and the new conditions imposed. It may be mentioned that new power connections remained suspended since early April, as part of a government step to address the electricity shortage.
According to report, about 50 per cent out of an estimated 0.4 million applicants would be given new connections following the serial of dates of submission of demand notes. Power distribution agencies will have to ensure 500 megawatts of electricity for the new connections. No one will be allocated electricity for air conditioners except important establishments. Distribution agencies will ensure the use of compact fluorescent lamps and other energy saving devices.
The new connections would need to generate additional 1,200 megawatt (MW) electricity in case of meeting the demands of all applicants. Experts and officials in the power sector said that such high volume of additional power demand would compel the distribution companies to increase load shedding on the existing consumers. However, if the production grows significantly, the load shedding situation would remain the same. But if the increment of production rate cannot follow the demand rate, power outages would increase further.
According to experts, new conditions set by the government will not bring any solution to the huge power shortfall since solar power is still much expensive and needed much space that is not available in urban areas. The government has initiated establishing high cost short term Quick Rental Power plants of a total capacity of 1633MW in the private sector to solve the power crisis on a fast track basis. But these plants are not expected to come into production in time and fail to produce electricity sufficiently as they would use run down plants. It should have emphasised on improving the efficiency of the old power plants that would give additional 700MW power on the national grid within six months, they said.
As the government delays providing power connections to consumers, country's real estate developers are in doldrums and failing to hand over the flats to their customers. As a result, scores of buyers have been denied entry into their new homes. Those who have given notices to their landlords for vacating their rented places in anticipation of living in their new homes are now in a deep dilemma.
The knock-on effects of such a prolonged ban on new connections are far-reaching. Housing companies are unable to hand over the readied flats to their customers. The developers will not be able to go for new ventures as they are not getting money from the sale proceeds of their readied apartments. House rents in the capital will go up abnormally due to scarcity of flats. Thousands of customers will be forced to pay more money as house rents as they are unable to live in their new apartments due to non-availability of gas and electricity. The prices of apartments are expected to make another jump.
In another development, Ban on the use of air conditioners (AC) during peak hours -- from 6.0pm to 11pm daily still continues. Such a ban imposed long ago in order to ease load shedding situation, appears to remain on papers only. It was scheduled to be applicable for all residential units, private and public offices, businesses and shops-excepting hospitals, restaurants and hotels. It also stated that AC temperature regulators could not be lowered to less than 25 degrees centigrade during off-peak hours.
However, the directive failed to leave any favourable impact on the overall load shedding situation in the capital. A newspaper survey says that the use of AC is continuing unabated in most of the residential houses and public places. BERC has not been able to mobilise an adequate number of inspectors or officials to enforce its directive. With limited work force, it is impossible for the regulator or the Power Development Board (PDB) to go for regular visits from door to door for checking. If that is the situation, then why did the authorities concerned go for issuing such an 'improper' directive? Why did not the enforcement issue come at the first place? Why is not the Power Division organised?
There is hardly any disagreement with the PDB chairman when he, as the reports said, said things would change if everyone remains aware of consuming power. But the fact remains that air conditioners are mostly used by the affluent section of the society. No warning was earlier issued apparently targeting this section of people. BERC said anyone violating peak-hour AC use ban would be fined or given prison term for a minimum period of three months. Such a warning certainly hurts those consumers who regularly pay electricity bills and do not indulge in any wrongdoing.
The long history of PDB suggested that it was never an efficient and clean organisation. It sustained colossal losses years after years due to rampant irregularities and mismanagement by a section of its officials and employees. Petty meter readers of PDB were earlier reported to have turned themselves into millionaires in just a few years. They became newspaper headlines on many occasions, particularly during the last caretaker government. Staggering losses suffered by the PDB were passed on the consumers by hiking power tariffs most frequently. When general consumers are made to suffer for inefficiencies in the power sector, how can the authorities concerned threaten jail term and a fine for violation of the directive banning the use of AC during peak hours? It is ridiculous!
Tough conditions set for getting new connections, ban on the use of AC during peak hours and the suggestion, recommending quadruple rise in CNG and another hike in power tariff etc., do otherwise reflect desperate moves by the authorities to 'save' the situation. But such moves without hard actions with some visible impact on the ground-level realities relating to power and gas supplies, are unlikely to give the right signals at this stage. Rather, the government should try to remedy the situation by fixing the priorities in the right direction.
szkhan@dhaka.net
AFTER a break of nearly eight months, the government is scheduled to start giving new electricity connections to the consumers. But the conditions set for getting new connections are so rigid that consumers can hardly meet those. To get new connections, use of solar power for residential and commercial consumers has been made mandatory.
Household electricity consumers need to produce 3.0 per cent solar power against 3.0 kilowatt power, if they want to get new connections. Commercial and industrial consumers will have to produce 7.0 per cent solar power for using power above 50 kw for electric light and fan. Readymade garment (RMG) units will have to use at least 5.0 per cent solar power for fans and lights.
After passing so many deadlines for new connections, the Power Division had earlier planned to provide new power connection from November 1, but the move was again halted and the new conditions imposed. It may be mentioned that new power connections remained suspended since early April, as part of a government step to address the electricity shortage.
According to report, about 50 per cent out of an estimated 0.4 million applicants would be given new connections following the serial of dates of submission of demand notes. Power distribution agencies will have to ensure 500 megawatts of electricity for the new connections. No one will be allocated electricity for air conditioners except important establishments. Distribution agencies will ensure the use of compact fluorescent lamps and other energy saving devices.
The new connections would need to generate additional 1,200 megawatt (MW) electricity in case of meeting the demands of all applicants. Experts and officials in the power sector said that such high volume of additional power demand would compel the distribution companies to increase load shedding on the existing consumers. However, if the production grows significantly, the load shedding situation would remain the same. But if the increment of production rate cannot follow the demand rate, power outages would increase further.
According to experts, new conditions set by the government will not bring any solution to the huge power shortfall since solar power is still much expensive and needed much space that is not available in urban areas. The government has initiated establishing high cost short term Quick Rental Power plants of a total capacity of 1633MW in the private sector to solve the power crisis on a fast track basis. But these plants are not expected to come into production in time and fail to produce electricity sufficiently as they would use run down plants. It should have emphasised on improving the efficiency of the old power plants that would give additional 700MW power on the national grid within six months, they said.
As the government delays providing power connections to consumers, country's real estate developers are in doldrums and failing to hand over the flats to their customers. As a result, scores of buyers have been denied entry into their new homes. Those who have given notices to their landlords for vacating their rented places in anticipation of living in their new homes are now in a deep dilemma.
The knock-on effects of such a prolonged ban on new connections are far-reaching. Housing companies are unable to hand over the readied flats to their customers. The developers will not be able to go for new ventures as they are not getting money from the sale proceeds of their readied apartments. House rents in the capital will go up abnormally due to scarcity of flats. Thousands of customers will be forced to pay more money as house rents as they are unable to live in their new apartments due to non-availability of gas and electricity. The prices of apartments are expected to make another jump.
In another development, Ban on the use of air conditioners (AC) during peak hours -- from 6.0pm to 11pm daily still continues. Such a ban imposed long ago in order to ease load shedding situation, appears to remain on papers only. It was scheduled to be applicable for all residential units, private and public offices, businesses and shops-excepting hospitals, restaurants and hotels. It also stated that AC temperature regulators could not be lowered to less than 25 degrees centigrade during off-peak hours.
However, the directive failed to leave any favourable impact on the overall load shedding situation in the capital. A newspaper survey says that the use of AC is continuing unabated in most of the residential houses and public places. BERC has not been able to mobilise an adequate number of inspectors or officials to enforce its directive. With limited work force, it is impossible for the regulator or the Power Development Board (PDB) to go for regular visits from door to door for checking. If that is the situation, then why did the authorities concerned go for issuing such an 'improper' directive? Why did not the enforcement issue come at the first place? Why is not the Power Division organised?
There is hardly any disagreement with the PDB chairman when he, as the reports said, said things would change if everyone remains aware of consuming power. But the fact remains that air conditioners are mostly used by the affluent section of the society. No warning was earlier issued apparently targeting this section of people. BERC said anyone violating peak-hour AC use ban would be fined or given prison term for a minimum period of three months. Such a warning certainly hurts those consumers who regularly pay electricity bills and do not indulge in any wrongdoing.
The long history of PDB suggested that it was never an efficient and clean organisation. It sustained colossal losses years after years due to rampant irregularities and mismanagement by a section of its officials and employees. Petty meter readers of PDB were earlier reported to have turned themselves into millionaires in just a few years. They became newspaper headlines on many occasions, particularly during the last caretaker government. Staggering losses suffered by the PDB were passed on the consumers by hiking power tariffs most frequently. When general consumers are made to suffer for inefficiencies in the power sector, how can the authorities concerned threaten jail term and a fine for violation of the directive banning the use of AC during peak hours? It is ridiculous!
Tough conditions set for getting new connections, ban on the use of AC during peak hours and the suggestion, recommending quadruple rise in CNG and another hike in power tariff etc., do otherwise reflect desperate moves by the authorities to 'save' the situation. But such moves without hard actions with some visible impact on the ground-level realities relating to power and gas supplies, are unlikely to give the right signals at this stage. Rather, the government should try to remedy the situation by fixing the priorities in the right direction.
szkhan@dhaka.net