Power Sector

PM spells out problems in JS

2 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Unb, Sangsad Bhaban

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said in the Parliament that the highest power deficit at the end of 2008 was 1,049 megawatts. Replying to a starred question by M Moslem Uddin (Mymensing-6) during the PM's question and answer session, she said that till December 31, 2008 the power deficit was mainly due to not setting up new power plants, less productivity in the public power plants and gas crisis. She said that after 2002, no new power plant was set up either in the public or private sector. “As a result, there was no enhancement of power generation with the growing demand.” In this connection, she said in 1996 her government signed agreements to produce 1,260MW electricity by 2002 under the guidelines of the Private Sector Power Generation Policy. “But no new power plant was set up by the public or private sector after 2002,” she said. Hasina also said that one third of the public power plants are over 20 years old. The power productivity and reliability of these power plants have declined over the years. From these plants, 400-500MW lower electricity was being generated. She mentioned that previous governments had not taken any effective steps to explore gas. “There was a deficit in gas supply as the governments failed to calculate the demand of gas properly. As a result the power plants cannot go for optimum level of power generation,” she said. Hasina informed the Parliament that her government is not afraid of the high population growth of the country rather she underscored the need for turning the huge population into skilled manpower. “I don't think that the huge population of the country is a burden for us, I prefer to term it as a strength for us. We just need to train the population,” she said, responding to a supplementary question from Khan Tipu Sultan during the PM's question-answer hour.