The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Discussants at a roundtable on 'power crisis in business and industries during the peak summer' emphasized the need for changing the office timetable to 8 am to 2 pm to save more electricity for using during the evening peak hours.

" We can save 350 MW at Dhaka and Chittagong daily to put it to households or industry during peak hours," said Engineer BD Rahmatullah of Rural Electrification Board taking part in the discussion.

The Media Foundation for Trade and Development organized the discussion at Jatiya Press Club chaired by Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) Prof Dr Anwarul Azim. Columnist Sadeq Khan was in the chair.

FBCCI President Anisul Haque, Prof Mahbub Ullah, journalist Amanullah Kabir, president of Bangladesh Engineering Industries Owners Association Abdur Razzak, President of Bangladesh Dukan Malik Samity Amir Hossain Khan, Chairman of Bangladesh Cold Storage Association Eng Major (Retd)Jasim Uddin, General secretary of Bangladesh Re-rolling Mills Association Sheikh Masadul Alam Masud, and Vice President of Bangladesh Steel Mills Owners Association Abul Qashem Majumder spoke.

The speakers demanded the government to free the captive power generation to private sector as a way to mitigate the growing power shortage from which the country's private sector business and industries are severely suffering.

Anis said," Open talk on the terms and condition, tell us where such captive plants can be set up to support the national grid, in addition to supplying private entrepreneur's own needs."

He also emphasized the need for switching to coal based power generation saying, the world's 68 percent power come from coal. He suggested the government should sit with the proponents and opponents of open pits mining saying, "We must find a solution to the problems hindering the development of coal mines."