Illegal connections deepen energy crisis
The chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on energy and power ministry yesterday expressed deep frustration as illegal gas and electricity connections are being given out. Tajul Islam said it seems that there is anarchy in the country the way gas and electricity connections are being given.
“It seems that there is no rule of law in the country. I am really shocked,” he said. “I have talked about it several times, but nothing has changed. We have to act in this area.”
The ruling party lawmaker spoke at a seminar organised at Petrobangla in the capital on the occasion of National Energy Security Day.
The government declared August 9 National Energy Security Day in 2010, as on this day in 1975 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman bought five gas fields from Shell Oil Company at only £4.4 million.
The decision of buying the gas fields is largely credited for meeting the country's energy needs over the last four decades.
The theme of this year's event was encouraging people to conserve energy for a prosperous planet.
There are about 200 kilometres of illegal lines taken from Titas, according to Petrobangla.
The illegal connection spree began in May 2013 after the government had lifted a three-year ban and announced legalising illegal lines.
More than one lakh illegal gas lines have been legalised so far. There are also illegal power connections, but their numbers are hard to find.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister, said a change in habit can save a lot of energy.
About 543 million cubic feet of gas, which is one-fifth of the current gas production, could be saved through an efficient use of the scarce energy at industrial boilers, captive generators and fertiliser plants, said Md Quamruzzaman, a director of Petrobangla, in his presentation.
He said the country's energy mix is in imbalance to some extent as natural gas accounts for 75 percent of electricity supply.
“We will have to increase the use of LNG [liquefied natural gas] and produce more electricity from coal and renewable energy to meet the rising demand,” he said.
Bangladesh is sitting on a coal reserve of more than three billion tonnes, whose heat generation capacity is equivalent to 37 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to official statistics. Only 2 percent of the total electricity comes from coal.
The government has more than doubled power generation since 2009. Still, more than 40 percent of the population in Bangladesh does not have access to grid electricity.
Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power and energy, called for adjustment of gas and electricity prices as establishing infrastructure for power generation requires a lot of investment.
He also said if the gas now consumed by households, CNG-run vehicles and captive generators—which account for one-third of the total gas consumption—are diverted to power plants, the country would be able to produce more electricity.
Istiaque Ahmad, chairman of Petrobangla, said raising efficiency in energy production and usage has become inevitable.
AR Khan, chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, said about 30 percent of gas can be saved through efficient uses.
He also said the commission set up a gas fund to strengthen Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex), but Petrobangla is not being able to live up to the expectation although Tk 4,000 crore is available through the fund.
Nazim Uddin Chowdhury, acting secretary for the energy and mineral resources division, said the government is planning to initiate awards to recognise innovations and development in the energy sector.
He said there is inefficiency in energy management, which has to be improved. The efficiency of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), the lone importer of petroleum products in the country, has to be improved, he said.
AM Badrudduja, chairman of BPC, said although the task of the state-run organisation has widened five times since its establishment, its workforce has trimmed instead of going up.
Thanks to the low oil prices in international markets, BPC started to make profits in January last year, which came after 14 years of continuing losses, he said.
As BPC had to buy oil at higher prices and sell it at lower rates, Tk 29,000 crore piled up as loans and other debts.
Since global fuel prices have started to fall in mid-2014 and more than halved, domestic fuel prices have not been adjusted.
Fuel subsidies have effectively turned negative, and the authorities have not indicated any plans to adjust them in the near term.
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