Power, energy situation to improve within two weeks: Amit

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit on Thursday expressed hope that the country’s power and energy situation will improve significantly within the next two weeks.

“Around 88 percent of the gas supply system has already been restored, while efforts are underway to normalize the remaining 12 percent as soon as possible,” he said at a press conference at the Secretariat.

Expressing regret over the sufferings of people caused by the current power and energy situation, Amit said, “We share people’s sufferings in this situation. We hope the situation will improve significantly within the next two weeks.”

Amit said the gas supply system has not yet returned to full normalcy despite the repair of a damaged Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU).

Replying about the power situation, he said two units of the Payra Power Plant are currently out of operation due to maintenance, while one unit of the Rampal Power Plant is also not operating at full capacity.

The state minister said coal-carrying lighter vessels cannot currently be brought to the power plants due to rough weather in the Bay of Bengal.

“Once the weather returns to normal, coal supplies will become easier. Then the Payra and Rampal power plants will be able to return to full-capacity generation,” he said.

Amit said with fully operations of Payra and Rampal plants, along with normalization of fuel supplies, there would be a positive impact on power sector.

However, the government expects a significant improvement in the overall power and energy situation after September 15, he said.

The state minister also announced an initiative to set up the second unit of Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL).

He said the project is being taken up with $1 billion in financing from the Islamic Development Bank. 

Meanwhile an agreement on the project was signed today in the presence of the Prime Minister.

Once implemented, the project will triple the country’s crude oil refining capacity, Amit said.

The new facility will have the capacity to refine around 4.5 million metric tonnes of crude oil annually, enabling the country to meet more than 50 percent of its total fuel demand, he said.

The project will play an important role in ensuring the country’s energy security, he added.

According to the Development Project Proposal (DPP), the ERL project is scheduled to become operational in 2030.

“Currently, 2,300 to 2,700 mmcf of gas can be supplied through domestic production and imported LNG. If all the gas is allocated to power generation, supplies to industries and households will be disrupted,” he said.

The state minister said Bangladesh’s one of the two FSRUs for imported LNG went out of order and on July 21 and took around 21 to 22 days to get it repaired.

He said one 616 MW unit of the Payra power plant was currently shut down due to a technical fault, while another 616-MW unit at the Matarbari power plant was undergoing maintenance.

“Steps have been taken to bring both units back into full operation quickly,” Amit said.

He also said the power plant operated by Adani has faced some problems due to excessive rainfall. Under the power purchase agreement with India’s Adani Bangladesh was supposed to receive 1,600 MW of electricity, but was currently receiving around 900 MW during the daytime and nearly 1,100 MW in the evening.