Energy & Power

Snapshots

DESA, DESCO & Titas Gas Directed to Introduce Prepaid Meter

Ministry of Power, Energy & Menials Resource ordered three state-owned energy entities to expedite their processes of introducing prepaid metering system in bill collection, which is part of a move to curb electricity theft.

Power and Energy Advisor Tapan Chowdhury recently gave the directive to the Power Development Board (PDB), Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA) and the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company in a meeting on prepaid metering system at the Energy Ministry.

The Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), which invented the prepaid meters for Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO), made a presentation at the meeting.

Highly impressed with the BUET invented prepaid meters and their effectiveness in curbing electricity pilferage, Tapan Chowdhury directed PDB, DESA and Titas Gas to expedite their processes of installing the prepaid metres within next three months at least for their industrial consumers.

“The government would provide all shorts of support to the meter-production business of DESCO,” he said.

BUET Professor and IICT director SM Lutful Kabir, in his presentation, said prepaid meter is an indigenous technology for which BUET obtained the best award in a global competition. It has been “very effective in checking the electricity theft through meter tampering”.

Weekly Holiday in Industries in Staggered Manner Likely from Next Month

The government is contemplating a plan to introduce weekly holiday in industries in a staggered manner from next month to reduce the demand for electricity in the evening peak hours in the country, especially in Dhaka and Chittagong, to ease any severe power crisis during the upcoming summer.

The Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) has already finalized a draft proposal in this connection.

The industries, being considered for this purpose, include those producing garments, textiles, steel, foods, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Currently, most of the industries enjoy holiday on Friday and most of them operate in the evening peak hours.
The Power Division estimates that around 132 megawatts (MW) of the evening peak hours' demand for electricity could be reduced through introduction of the weekly holiday in the staggered manner against 924 MW industrial loads by limiting commercial and agricultural use of electricity.

Bangladesh: BDT 1,000 cr Lying with 100 Top Power Sector Defaulters

The Joint Forces plan to start drive against the big defaulters in the power sector soon, official sources said.

The task force of the Power Ministry under the National Coordination Committee for Curbing Grave Offences already collected a list of 100 top defaulters from the utility service agencies, the sources in the Power Ministry said, adding the arrears against such defaulters would be more than BDT 1,000 crore.

The total outstanding bills of the power sector now stands at BDT 6,708 crore. Of this the bulk amount of BDT 3,995 cr is with the Power Development Board (PDB). This is followed by Dhaka Electric Supply Authorities (DESA) BDT 2,160 cr, Rural Electrification Board (REB) BDT 269 cr, DESCO BDT 109 cr and PGCBs BDT 175 crore.

Due to non-payment of bills by major public sector consumers, the exchequer of PDB is almost empty, the sources said.

In November last, PDB sought BDT 450 crore as subsidy from the government for paying its dues as it was running without its own fund.

PDB has been incurring an annual loss of about BDT 1,000-1,300 crore over the last few years as it buys power from IPPs in dollars and sell it to Rural Electrification Board and the agriculture sector at subsidized rates.

India to launch Mega Petrochemical Project in Assam

Industrially backward Assam is all set for a major leap, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laying the foundation stone of a whopping Rs.54 billion integrated petrochemical project.

Popularly referred to as Assam Gas Cracker Project but renamed the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymers Ltd, it is to be implemented by the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) with 70 percent equity participation in five years.

The remaining 30 percent equity would be shared equally among Oil India Ltd (OIL), Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and the Assam government. The mega project is being set up at Lepetkata in eastern Assam's Dibrugarh district, about 520 km from Guwahati.

The prime minister, during his two-day visit, would also lay the foundation of a second bridge over the Brahmaputra near Guwahati.

Call for Small Power Plants of PBS

The government should frame a new policy under which small power plants could be installed selectively by Palli Bidyut Samities (PBS) of the country to overcome the existing power crisis, urged speakers at a seminar.
"Rural Electrification Board (REB) wishes to be the government's power generation partner to help reduce the existing crisis. Power policy should be formulated considering generation and expansion of power supply in the country," said M Habib Ullah Majumdar, chairman of REB.

The country has 70 PBSs, supplying power to more than 60 lakh customers.

The PBSs having sufficient manpower and technical support could be brought under different power generation projects including small power or least-cost-generation schemes, the speakers said at the seminar jointly organised by REB, Bangladesh Engineering and Technological Services Ltd and (BETS) and Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad (BUP).

"Policy makers' failure to maintain consistency between demand and supply of power as well as confusing energy policies has resulted in the existing crisis and hindered systematic progress of the country," said Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman, chairman of BUP and project director of BETS-BUP.

Tatas Face Longer Wait for Bangladesh Projects

Bangladesh indicated that a decision on Tata Group's proposed three billion dollar investment in that country may take a while, as it is not a 'priority' of the caretaker government.

"Our main priority is to hold elections. That's what we have told them (Tatas)," Press Secretary to Bangladesh Chief Adviser Syed Fahim Munaim said on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit.

The Tata Group had proposed to invest over three billion dollars to set up power, steel and fertiliser projects in Bangladesh, but government approvals have been hard to come.

Asked whether the Tatas have threatened to shelve the investment plans, Munaim said they only asked for a 'decision'. But, the Bangladesh government has informed the Indian business house that it 'needs to examine the project afresh' and it would take time.

A Tata Group official had last month said that 'more time it took to come to an agreement or more delays happen, the more difficult' it would be to invest in that country.

Fuel Import Deal with Kuwait Extended for Another Year

The Advisers Council on Public Purchase, known as Cabinet Purchase Committee, approved a proposal to extend the existing agreement on fuel import from Kuwait by another year.

After the approval by the top policymaking body of the caretaker government, the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will now have the scope to continue its import of petroleum fuel from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) until December 2008.

Bangladesh annually imports about 2.0 million (20 lakh) tons of refined petroleum from Kuwait while it imports 1.4 million (14 lakh) tons of crude oil from India, Saudi Arabia and some other Middle East countries to meet the entire demand of 3.2 million (32 lakh) tons.

The BPC, a statutory body under the energy ministry, has been importing petroleum from Kuwait since 2005 under an agreement signed in October 2004. The agreement, which was due to expire in December 2007, will now remain valid until December 2008.

Exempt RMG Units from Fuel Price Hike for Six Months
BGMEA Urges Govt

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the government to exempt apparel sector from the fuel price hike for the next six months.

A delegation of BGMEA led by its President Anwarul Alam Chowdhury made the plea during a meeting with Energy Adviser Tapan Chowdhury yesterday.

The BGMEA leaders urged the energy adviser to extend the government policy support for them in the power and energy sector to flourish the apparel sector. They urged the adviser to minimize various charges of banks and allocate some incentives for the apparel sector in the next budget for adjusting the extra fuel expenses if it is not possible to exempt them from the fuel price hike.

Shops Allowed to be Open 7 Days a Week

Shop owners across the country now can keep their shops open all the seven days of the week to recoup losses being incurred following the government decision on closure in the evening to save electricity.

The decision was taken in a meeting between LGRD and Cooperatives Adviser Anwarul Iqbal and the leaders of the Shop Owners Association in the ministry's conference room.

It was decided in the meeting that shop employees would be given necessary allowances and facilities under the Labour Law 2006 for their overtime work.