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suggested that power tariff be hiked in order to ensure its efficient
use. " Such a hike is necessary to make it sure that power and
energy are used efficiently," he told a roundtable in Dhaka
yesterday. Energy and Power Magazine organised the roundtable on
Policy, Pricing and Subsidy for Sustainable Energy at the Cirdap
auditorium. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources
Enamul Haque, his predecessor AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former
president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Abdul Awal Mintoo took part in the discussion among others. The
keynote paper was presented by Professor Ijaz Hossain of the
Department of Chemical Engineering at Bangladesh University of
Engineering and Technology. Towfique-e-Elahi Chowdhury said the
government is planning to explore gas both in offshore and onshore
areas to meet the growing demand of power and energy. He, however,
stressed efficient usage of power by consumers so that everybody can
be brought under the coverage of electricity. Chowdhury said the
government will prioritise the supply of power to rural areas. In
his speech Enamul Haque said although the government wants to raise
power and gas prices, it did not fix the methodologies yet in this
connection. Pointing to some bad impacts of power tariff hike, Haque
admitted that a large section of people in rural areas are still out
of power coverage. "But, the government wants ensure quality service
to consumers through raising power and energy tariff," he said. The
former state minister for power also advocated such tariff hike. He
said since the state-owned company is not well-equipped to explore
gas right this moment, foreign companies should continue the job of
exploration. He said coal exploration is very essential now to improve
the power situation. "The government should also increase the CNG
price as the price of such energy is too low in comparison with
petroleum products," Mosharrf Hossain said. Mukhlesur Rahman, acting
chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission ( BERC), said
subsidising is not a good solution to the power situation. Abdul Awal
Mintoo said if the government wants 1 percent more economic growth it
needs 2.50 percent growth in electricity production. He said the
government should not increase power and energy tariff unjustifiably.
Editor of the Energy and Power Magazine Mollah Amzad Hossain
moderated the roundtable.
