Need for energy security policy stressed

State minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, yesterday emphasised the importance of adopting an energy security policy at the earliest. 
He was speaking as the chief guest at the inception workshop on ‘Study on Energy Security’ organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at Bidyut Bhaban. He also assured the people that the government would not adopt any policy that would hamper the growth of export volume and industries.
The minister reminded the audience that industries and export volumes are growing in Bangladesh. “We're running out of our primary fuel, gas, and we've to look for other options. Formulation of a comprehensive energy security policy is thus very important,” he explained.
Hamid said the vital part of an energy security policy would be to prioritise “energy choice”. “The biggest question we face today is to determine what our next chief source of energy will be,” he added.
He said Bangladesh has reasonable reserves of relatively good-quality coal and there is no alternative but to use this valuable resource for economic development. “But the question is when will we extract that coal? If we extract it now, it will cost more than the imported ones do,” he pointed out.
“Our coal deposit and its extraction are the most important issues now, and we'll have to take a decision,” he added.
“But we can't move ahead without a policy because a policy will guide us to rationalise our energy resources and tell us which resources to use where and when,” he explained.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ahmed Kaikaus, chairman of the Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council, said the major challenges are to achieve energy security and sustain quality power supply to all at an affordable price.
He said that Bangladesh’s known gas reserves would run out soon and the coal reserves would last for only a few decades. He added that the supply of enriched nuclear fuel, governed by geopolitical and security considerations, cannot be guaranteed for long, as known uranium reserves are also expected to run out in the near future.
“So, it’s time for us to think and formulate an energy security policy as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the key to energy security for the country lies in utilising local resources prudently and in developing local capability to discover more resources.
Yogesh Daruka, partner advisory of PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd (PWC), which is conducting a study on energy security in Bangladesh on behalf of ADB, also spoke on the occasion. PWC will submit its inception report on the energy security situation in Bangladesh in the first week of February and the final report in the first week of June.

Need for energy security policy stressed

State minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid, yesterday emphasised the importance of adopting an energy security policy at the earliest. He was speaking as the chief guest at the inception workshop on Study on Energy Security organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at Bidyut Bhaban. He also assured the people that the government would not adopt any policy that would hamper the growth of export volume and industries. The minister reminded the audience that industries and export volumes are growing in Bangladesh. Were running out of our primary fuel, gas, and weve to look for other options. Formulation of a comprehensive energy security policy is thus very important, he explained. Hamid said the vital part of an energy security policy would be to prioritise energy choice. The biggest question we face today is to determine what our next chief source of energy will be, he added. He said Bangladesh has reasonable reserves of relatively good-quality coal and there is no alternative but to use this valuable resource for economic development. But the question is when will we extract that coal? If we extract it now, it will cost more than the imported ones do, he pointed out. Our coal deposit and its extraction are the most important issues now, and well have to take a decision, he added. But we cant move ahead without a policy because a policy will guide us to rationalise our energy resources and tell us which resources to use where and when, he explained. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Ahmed Kaikaus, chairman of the Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council, said the major challenges are to achieve energy security and sustain quality power supply to all at an affordable price. He said that Bangladeshs known gas reserves would run out soon and the coal reserves would last for only a few decades. He added that the supply of enriched nuclear fuel, governed by geopolitical and security considerations, cannot be guaranteed for long, as known uranium reserves are also expected to run out in the near future. So, its time for us to think and formulate an energy security policy as soon as possible, he said, adding that the key to energy security for the country lies in utilising local resources prudently and in developing local capability to discover more resources. Yogesh Daruka, partner advisory of PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd (PWC), which is conducting a study on energy security in Bangladesh on behalf of ADB, also spoke on the occasion. PWC will submit its inception report on the energy security situation in Bangladesh in the first week of February and the final report in the first week of June.