Dhaka: Energy affairs adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan today expected the countrywide electricity supply situation to remain tolerable during the summer with the import of extra volumes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and coal for power production. “The government has been trying to keep load shedding at a tolerable stage during the summer season, for which we are importing additional LNG and other fuels including coal,” he told a seminar on Energy Crisis: Way Forward, held at Biduyt Bhaban.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Khan emphasized there will be no discrimination in electricity supply between urban and rural areas and he instructed the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) to submit a power supply report across the country. The Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) organized the seminar. Khan urged journalists not to be alarmed about the power situation, stating that despite media predictions, the highest load shedding on April 24 was 139 MW, while electricity generation was 16,365 MW. He explained that power rationing is sometimes necessary due to production disruptions or technical issues with transformers.
Khan also mentioned that the government is working to reshape the power and energy sector through price negotiations with generation companies. “We will ensure a benchmark for fixing the price of energy and power, which would include coal-based and gas-based power plants,” Khan added. Energy expert Professor Dr. Ijaz Hossain presented the keynote paper, noting that the government should have started natural gas exploration earlier to maintain gas production at 2,000 mmcfd. He also discouraged the use of oil imports for electricity generation.
Hossain suggested setting up re-gasification terminals with a capacity of 2,000 mmcfd and improving LPG distribution networks. He recommended facilitating the import of 4-5 million tonnes of LPG to transition from natural gas in urban households. He also advised the government to secure low-cost coal supply, either through ownership or import, and to increase renewable electricity penetration from the current 2 percent to at least 10 percent by 2030.
The seminar was moderated by Executive Director of FERB Shirajul Islam, with participation from Petrobangla chairman Md Rezanur Rahman, Bangladesh Power Development Board chairman Engineer Md Rezaul Karim, and other FERB members. Research Director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem and energy expert Professor Dr. M Shamsul Alam also participated, highlighting the need for increased gas exploration to discover new gas fields and mitigate gas shortages.