Power and energy sector receives Tk 28,051cr
The power and energy sector has received Tk 28,051 crore for the coming fiscal 2019-20, up by 2,451 crore from Tk. 26,502 crore in FY2018-19.
Finance minister AHM Musfata Kamal figured out this allocation in his budget speech while placing the national budget for the fiscal year 2019-20.
He said the government had set targets to generate 24,000 megawatts by 2021, 40,000MW by 2030, and 60,000 MW by 2041 respectively.
To meet the demand for electricity in short, medium and in long terms, the projects for its generation, distribution and transmission are in different phases of implementation, the finance minister said.
The benefits of these initiatives, are already visible, he said, adding that the power generation capacity had now increased to 21,169MW, and the government had succeeded to provide access to electricity to approximately 93 per cent of population.
Besides, he said, projects for the construction of 53 power plants with capacity to generate 14,202MW of electricity were underway.
To ensure energy security and sustainable energy supply system, the government has planned to reduce the use of fuel to 15 per cent by 2021 and to 20 per cent by 2030, Kamal said.
He said the present government had implemented various projects to set up coal- based power plants as an alternative to natural gas. ‘Some mega projects are being implemented at Paira, Moheshkhali and Materbari classifying these areas as power hubs.’
Besides, the natural gas and coal- based power plants, setting up of a nuclear power plant at Rooppur with a power generation capacity of 2,400 megawatts are in progress, he added.
To import Liquefied Natural Gas, an alternative to indigenous natural gas, and ensure energy security in the country, two Floating Storage and Regasification Unit with a daily capacity of 1000 million cubic feet have been installed, which currently adds around 650 million cubic feet LNG daily to the national grid, the minister said.
He said signing of an MoU between Bangladesh, India and Bhutan to import hydro power from Bhutan was underway, he added.
He said there were targets to generate 10 per cent of the total electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Aiming to promote electricity generation on the rooftops of private buildings using solar home system, a ‘Net Metering Guideline’ has been prepared, he said adding that steps had been taken to install solar system panels on the rooftops of all educational institutions.
Mustafa Kamal said the government had taken a series of actions in the last two terms to improve the transmission infrastructures and support the additional generation capacity of the nation. ‘By the next year, each upazila of the country will have 100 per cent access to electricity.’
About the energy sector, Mustafa Kamal said the government had undertaken short-, medium- and long-term plans to explore and extract unexplored gas and oil in land and sea areas.
By time, the excavation work of 24 oil wells has been completed by BAPEX, he said adding that after gaining new maritime boundary from India and Myanmar, Production Sharing Contracts had been signed with international oil companies for 4 offshore blocks to explore oil and gas in the sea areas of Bangladesh.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
