PM's adviser gives 'rain therapy' to cut power outrage

Prime Minister's Energy Advisor Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury yesterday urged the electricity consumers to be patient and wait for rain to experience lesser hours of load shedding.
“If there is more rain, the extent of load shedding will come down,” he said while inaugurating the SMS-based bill payment system of Rural Electrification Board (REB) and online application system of Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) at a function in the capital.
The PM's advisor also urged the affluent section of society to cut down air-conditioner usage at their houses, saying that if an air-conditioner remains off, it provides much needed electricity to four to five small consumers.
He claimed that the present government increased power generation by more than 2,000 megawatt during its three-and-half-year tenure.
State Minister for Power and Energy Mohammad Enamul Haque said the REB had introduced the SMS-bill payment system in a bid to provide better services to the REB consumers.
At the function, a contract was signed between REB and Teletalk under which consumers of 70 Palli Bidyut Samities (PBSs) under the REB will be able to pay their monthly bills through SMS services.
Power Secretary Abul Kalam Azad, REB Chairman Brig Gen Moinuddin and DPDC Managing Director Nazrul Hasan also spoke at the function.