No industrial gas link in next two years

Entrepreneurs decry decision

No new gas connection would be provided to industry over the next two years, said Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the Prime Minister, yesterday.
He was speaking at a seminar titled ‘Energy Efficiency and Textiles: Lifeline of the Economy’, organised by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), at a city hotel.
Chowdhury said production of gas has gradually gone down and will decrease further unless new wells are found. Hence, providing new gas connection to the industry would be difficult for the government.
“New industrial units seeking gas connections will have to wait for two years. But the government is trying to maintain continuous gas supplies to the industries that already have it,” he said, adding that an initiative has been taken to bring 500 million cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar.
Chowdhury said 10 new wells will be drilled over the next year in search of gas. But he also asked all the captive power plants to increase their efficiency by 60 per cent.
Presenting the keynote paper at the seminar, Dr M Tamim, professor of mineral and petroleum engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said the long-term objective is to establish proper market-based energy pricing that will ensure reliable and quality energy supplies. As an interim measure, use of gas must be prioritised, giving industry the highest priority.
“Another very important interim measure is demand-side management (DSM) through conservation and efficiency improvement,” said Dr Tamim.
Co-generation of heat and power (CHP) has the highest thermal efficiency of all gas usage, and being the major export contributor and the best candidate for CHP, textiles should be given captive power priority, provided that CHP is adopted in the sector, he added.
BTMA president Tapon Chowdhury said textile mills are resorting to energy efficiency devices through co-generation and other means to obtain maximum output from the available gas. It is estimated that BTMA member mills produce 1,200–1,300 MW power to run their production and thereby save national grid power to that extent.  “Recently, a 100 per cent increase in gas tariffs for captive generators tremendously pushed up our cost of production,” he said.

Former Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president AK Azad said gas production would be reduced from 2017. “Under such circumstances, can the government ensure continuous supply of electricity to us? Otherwise, investment will stagnate and the pace of development will slow down,” he warned.

No industrial gas link in next two years

Entrepreneurs decry decision

No new gas connection would be provided to industry over the next two years, said Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the Prime Minister, yesterday. He was speaking at a seminar titled Energy Efficiency and Textiles: Lifeline of the Economy, organised by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), at a city hotel. Chowdhury said production of gas has gradually gone down and will decrease further unless new wells are found. Hence, providing new gas connection to the industry would be difficult for the government. New industrial units seeking gas connections will have to wait for two years. But the government is trying to maintain continuous gas supplies to the industries that already have it, he said, adding that an initiative has been taken to bring 500 million cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar. Chowdhury said 10 new wells will be drilled over the next year in search of gas. But he also asked all the captive power plants to increase their efficiency by 60 per cent. Presenting the keynote paper at the seminar, Dr M Tamim, professor of mineral and petroleum engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said the long-term objective is to establish proper market-based energy pricing that will ensure reliable and quality energy supplies. As an interim measure, use of gas must be prioritised, giving industry the highest priority. Another very important interim measure is demand-side management (DSM) through conservation and efficiency improvement, said Dr Tamim. Co-generation of heat and power (CHP) has the highest thermal efficiency of all gas usage, and being the major export contributor and the best candidate for CHP, textiles should be given captive power priority, provided that CHP is adopted in the sector, he added. BTMA president Tapon Chowdhury said textile mills are resorting to energy efficiency devices through co-generation and other means to obtain maximum output from the available gas. It is estimated that BTMA member mills produce 1,2001,300 MW power to run their production and thereby save national grid power to that extent. Recently, a 100 per cent increase in gas tariffs for captive generators tremendously pushed up our cost of production, he said. Former Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president AK Azad said gas production would be reduced from 2017. Under such circumstances, can the government ensure continuous supply of electricity to us? Otherwise, investment will stagnate and the pace of development will slow down, he warned.