Power sector allocation doubles
sector gets Tk 18,540cr as against Tk 9,338cr
in the outgoing year
The government has decided to allocate Tk 18,540 crore in funds to the energy and power sector in the proposed budget of 2015-16. The amount allocated to this sector in the revised budget for FY 2014-15 was Tk 9,338 crore.
This years allocation to this sector marks an increase of 98.54 per cent as compared to the last fiscal.
While the Power division has been allocated Tk 16,503 crore in this years budget against an allocation of Tk 8,286 crore in 2014-15, the Petroleum and Mineral Resources division has been allocated Tk 2,037 crore as compared to Tk 1,052 during the previous years budget.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith said the government has placed the power and energy sector on the top of its list of priorities and is therefore providing the sector with the resources.
AMA Muhith said that the power crisis had almost been mitigated. We are now taking a number of steps aimed at a lasting and sustainable solution, he said.
Muhith further noted that coal will be the main fuel after 2015. The Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company for setting up 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant at Rampal has already been formed and an agreement with JICA for the construction of 1,200 MW coal-based power plant at Matarbari has also been signed, he said referring to important measures taken in this regard. As a long term solution to the power crisis, the government has undertaken a plan to generate 2,000 MW and 4,000 MW electricity from nuclear energy by 2022 and 2030 respectively, the Finance Minister said. We have fixed a target to import 6,500 MW electricity by 2030 from the neighboring countries. Since November 2013, we have been importing 500 MW electricity from India. Import of additional 600 MW is under process. Discussion on importing hydro electricity from Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and north-eastern region of India is in progress, Muhith said.
The Finance Minister further informed that construction of transmission line of 3,31,000 km had been completed until December 2014. This, he said, would supply electricity to 1,62,00,000 users. There is a plan to construct 10,000 km new transmission line and 1,50,000 km new distribution line to bring everybody under electricity coverage, Muhith said.
The Finance Minister further said that gas exploration activities had been strengthened while preparations had also been made for LNG import. To increase supply of gas, we will have to step up gas exploration within our maritime boundary. At the same time, formulation of a long term integrated master plan for exploration, extraction, import, distribution, and use of gas is urgent as well as important, he said.
To ensure economic use of electricity, Muhith said that the government has initiated the process of installing prepaid meters in all households in phases over the next three years. Besides the expansion of energy production, the government also places emphasis on saving of energy by 10, 15 and 20 per cent within 2016, 2021 and 2030 respectively through saving and conservation of energy in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors, he said.
An Energy Efficiency and Conservation Master Plan is being formulated to this end. Steps are underway to implement energy auditing and energy management programmes in industries. Alongside, we have undertaken energy star labelling programme to encourage the use of efficient appliances among people, Muhith added.
