Power situation to improve soon as govt makes all-out efforts: Amit

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit on Wednesday said the government is making all-out efforts to address the ongoing gas and electricity crisis, expressing hope that the power situation will improve from the evening.

“It is difficult for us to give a specific timeline. But I hope that the power situation will improve to some extent from this evening,” he told journalists at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Expressing regret over the severe public suffering, Amit said the situation has become more complicated as an LNG cargo could not be unloaded at Summit Terminal due to adverse weather, while Excelerate Energy's terminal is operating at only around 50% capacity because of a technical fault.

Explaining the current gas supply situation through the two terminals, he said LNG could not be discharged from Summit Terminal because of rough weather in the Bay of Bengal.

“Once the weather returns to normal, we will be able to discharge the gas and, InshaAllah, gas supply will also return to normal,” he said.

Regarding the electricity situation, Amit said the government adopted a strategy from Tuesday evening and expressed hope that the situation would improve soon.

He said Bangladesh has sent a letter to the Malaysian authorities seeking cooperation to ensure gas supply, while he and the concerned minister held a virtual meeting with Malaysian officials. A Bangladesh delegation later visited Malaysia.

“We are working on Malaysian proposals and hope to receive at least one LNG cargo from Malaysia,” the state minister said.

Regarding the proposal to import LNG through ISO tanks, Amit said the process depends on the availability of the required tanks in the market.

The government is exploring all available alternatives to tackle the crisis, he said, adding that it is also seeking opinions from experts and businesspeople.

Referring to a seminar held at Dhaka Club on Tuesday, Amit said the government had sought expert opinions and was also consulting businesspeople on possible solutions.

Keeping public suffering in mind, the government is making every possible effort to address the crisis, he said.

Amit also said domestic gas production cannot be increased overnight as it is a long-term process. He added that policy decisions taken by previous governments had also contributed to the current crisis.