The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources placed the draft of the Merchant Power Plant policy to the Cabinet Division for approval, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Prof M Tamim yesterday said.

He was speaking as chief guest at a roundtable on "Road to Energy Efficient Dhaka" at CIRDAP Auditorium.

The Energy and Power (EP) magazine organised the roundtable. It was addressed, among others, by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) member Md Mokhlesur Rahman, former Chairman of Power Development Board Shamsul Islam and ANM Rizwan, Managing Director of Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited Eng Saleh Ahmed, Managing Director of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited Md Ataul Masud, Prof Dr Shahidul I Khan of BUET, former Petrobangla director Mokbul-e-Elahi, Director of Multimode Tabith M Awal and EP Editor Mollah Amzad.

BUET Professor Dr. Ijaz Hossain presented the keynote paper on the topic while AP Journalist Farid Hossain moderated the roundtable.

Dr Tamim said that his ministry was hopeful about the approval of the merchant power plant policy by the current month.

"The Ministry is also taking preparations to place the renewable energy policy to the cabinet division for approval by this week or next," he said, adding the government is trying to explore alternative sources of energy.

He pointed out that renewable energy use is only 4 per cent across the world as installation cost of renewable energy plant is very high. If anything is not cost effective, it's very difficult to be sustainable, he noted.

He further said that the preventive measures to reduce system loss saves 20 per cent of total electricity in the USA. "So, we have to ensure our efficient use of electricity," he added.

The Power and Energy Ministry has also initiated a move to introduce energy conservation topic at the school level textbooks to create awareness about energy conservation and efficiency, he informed.

The Ministry is working to prepare energy conservation law to ensure proper use of energy in the country. A committee has already been formed for this purpose, he said.

Dr Tamim said that his Ministry is hopeful to place the draft law to Advisory council for final approval by next month.

On the other hand, the Power Ministry has taken a pilot programme to create awareness about using energy savings electric lights (CFL bulbs) among 20,000 residents at Savar.

Journalist Farid Ahmed said that the political parties should include energy sector in their election manifesto.

Former Chairman of PDB, ANM Rizwan, said that the power distribution is being been disrupted due to the old-age transformers.

He called upon the government to set up new transponders replacing old ones for efficient power supply.

Managing Director of Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited Eng Saleh Ahmed, said that they are now facing 10.91 per cent system loss during the power distribution as against allowable 2.5 percent system loss. Proper distribution line is essential to reduce the system loss," he pointed out.

BUET Professor Dr. Ijaz Hossain said that Dhaka is consuming one-third of the total electricity generated in the country. "If the government introduces proper traffic management system and runs power related water pumps during off pick hours, it will be able to save energy," he added.

Managing Director of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited Md Ataul Masud called upon the government to investigate into the sale of tempered transponders by the local companies here. The tempered transponders are responsible for inefficiency in power distribution and system loss, according to him.