News Flash
DHAKA, April 26, 2025 (BSS) – Energy affairs adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan today expected the countrywide electricity supply situation to remain tolerable level during throughout summer with import of extra volume of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and coal for power production.
“The government has been trying to keep load shedding (power rationing) at a tolerable stage during the summer season, for which we are importing additional LNG and other fuels including coal,” he told a seminar on Energy Crisis: Way Forward, held at Biduyt Bhaban.
Khan said there will be no discrimination in electricity supply between urban and rural areas as he asked Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board the (BREB) to submit power supply report across the country.
Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) organized the seminar.
The adviser also urged the journalists not to be frightened about the power situation saying despite media prediction of a terrible load shedding “the highest load shedding in the country on April 24 was 139 MW, while electricity generation was 16365 MW”.
Basically, he said, the authorities are forced to ration power when production is disrupted or transformers see technical glitches.
He also said the government has been working to reshape the power and energy sector through price negotiations with generation companies.
“We will ensure a benchmark for fixing price of energy and power, which would include coal based and gas based power plants,” Khan added.
Energy expert Professor Dr Ijaz Hossain, former dean of engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), presented the keynote paper, saying the government had to start natural gas exploration work earlier to keep gas production at even 2000 mmcfd.
He said it was known to everyone that the country was exposed to gas shortage was known since 2010 while he discouraged oil import to generate electricity.
Hossain also suggested setting up re-gasification terminals having capacity of 2000 mmcfd (Present 1100 mmcfd) process and improve LPG distribution networks and facilitate import of 4-5 million tonnes of LPG as a transition from natural gas in urban households and transformation.
Ahmed said the government should secure low-cost coal supply, which would own or import.
“Side by side, increase renewable electricity penetration from the present 2 percent to a least 10 percent by 2030,” he added.
Executive Director of FERB Shirajul Islam moderated the seminar, while Petrobangla chairman Md Rezanur Rahman, chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Engineer Md Rezaul Karim and other FERB members joined the seminar.
Among others, Research Director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem and energy expert Professor Dr M Shamsul Alam of Daffodil International University took part in the discussion.
They also highlighted various issues of increasing gas exploration to find new gas fields to mitigate gas shortage.
