Load-shedding goes in a year

There will be no load-shedding in the country by the next year, State Minister for Power Mohammad Enamul Haque told parliament yesterday.
"The way we are moving forward--and if it continues--the country is expected to go into a 'no load-shedding' situation by the next year," Enamul said in reply to a supplementary question of ruling Awami League lawmaker Mohammad Shahabuddin.
But he did not explain how the government will work to get power situation to a "tolerable level" within this short span.
In a scripted reply, Enamul presented the long-term plans of the government, saying people would get rid of power crisis by 2014 on completion of installing new power plants and renovating and rehabilitating the old ones.
In reply to another question, Enamul informed the House that no agreement has been signed at the government or private level for setting up new power plants since the Awami League government came to power but a tender has been approved recently to build a 150MW plant in Sylhet. The agreement will be signed soon, he said.
Replying to another query, the state minister said the government has moved to set up coal and gas-based power plants to tackle the ongoing power crisis.
"A process is underway to set up a third power plant unit in Barapukuria coalmine area by June 2014 to produce 125MW electricity," Enamul, also a retired Brigadier General, said.
The government has also planned to set up coal based-power plants to produce 2000MW electricity, he said, adding that these power plants would be set up under independent power projects and public-private partnership projects.
Enamul also said the companies setting up coal-based power plants will themselves import "quality coal" from Indonesia, Australia and other coal extracting countries.
"The process under the new plan is going on to set up coal-based plants in Khulna to produce 500MW electricity, liquid fuel-based 100MW power plant in Bheramara, another 100MW plant in Jessore and a 50MW plant in Barisal," the state minister told the House.
In reply to a question of lawmaker Salma Islam, Enamul said the government has decided in principle not to bring new areas under gas supply network until gas production increases to 2,200 million cubit feet per day.
He informed the House that the government lost about Tk 450 crore in 2008-09 fiscal year because of systems loss in the power sector.