Staff Reporter:
Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood yesterday said that the govern-ment planned to privatize electricity distribution at consumer level to improve accountability, enhance service quality and bill collection.
“Although the government has been controlling generation and wholesale of electricity, if privatization of the distribution system is ensured the accountability, bill collection and service quality will be im-proved,” he said.
The minister made the remarks while addressing “Energy Security and Transformation of Bangladesh” conclave organized by Bangla Daily Banik Barta at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel yesterday.
He said the government had invited proposals from the private sector to take over electricity distribution companies, however, the control of power generation will be under the government.
Private participation would bring greater transparency, improve service quality and reduce the state’s financial burden, he said.
Banik Barta Editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud moderated the program.
State minister for Planning Md. Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki attended as special guest at the event while Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Chairman Jalal Ahmed, East Coast Group Chair-man Azam J Chowdhury, Transcom Group CEO Simeen Rahman, former Chairman of Power Grid Bangladesh PLC Dr M Rezwan Khan, former Managing Director of Infrastructure Development Compa-ny Limited (IDCOL) Alamgir Morshed, acting Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bangla-desh Md Enamul Haque and Bangladesh Sustainable and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA) Pres-ident Mostafa Al Mahmud also spoke.
Highlighting the country’s energy challenges, the minister said long-term energy security could only be achieved through increased domestic gas exploration and production alongside strengthening LNG im-port infrastructure.
He said the government plans to implement solar power projects on a cluster basis to reduce pressure on the national distribution system, with tenders expected to be floated by September. Chinese companies have already shown interest in investing in the sector, he added.
Iqbal Mahmood expressed optimism that Bangladesh could generate up to 10,000 MW of renewable en-ergy with adequate cooperation from stakeholders.
He said the government offered tax rebates and reduced holding taxes to property owners to encourage rooftop solar installations.
The minister alleged that the previous government had failed to undertake effective gas exploration de-spite expanding electricity generation capacity.
“About 28,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation capacity has been created, but no effective initia-tive was taken to explore the gas needed to run those plants,” he said.
Referring to a recent fire at one of the country’s floating storage and re -gasification units (FSRUs), Iq-bal Mahmood said the incident disrupted LNG supply and reduced gas pressure in different parts of the country, affecting households, industries and CNG stations.
The minister also criticised the establishment of a gas-fired power plant in Khulna without adequate gas supply arrangements, saying the project had remained largely idle due to absence of proposed Bhola-Barishal-Khulna gas pipeline.
Describing global energy security as increasingly complex, he said geopolitical tensions, including Iran –US –Israeli conflict, had driven up LNG prices, forcing Bangladesh to purchase gas at higher costs from spot market.
The government had announced a new renewable energy policy and planned to promote cluster-based solar power projects to reduce demand on distribution companies, he added.
He said the government aims to issue tenders for major solar projects by September, adding that several Chinese companies had already shown interest.
