State Minister for Power and Energy Aninda Islam Amit on Tuesday acknowledged significant gaps between demand and supply of electricity and gas, saying the government is working on a time-bound action plan to address the crisis.

“There is no immediate solution to the problems in the power and energy sectors. We need a specific action plan, and the government must move forward accordingly,” he said while speaking at a seminar titled "Crisis in the Fuel Sector: Prospects and Path Forward" at Dhaka Club.

Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) organised the seminar where Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood attended as the chief guest.

Accepting responsibility for the difficulties faced by people due to power and energy shortages, Amit apologised to consumers on behalf of the government and his ministry.

He said the country has around 30,000 MW of installed power generation capacity, but a shortage of fuel, particularly gas, is preventing power plants from operating at full capacity.

“The gas demand is around 1,200 million cubic feet per day, but there remains a significant gap between demand and supply,” the state minister said.

He said domestic gas production is declining by around 150 million cubic feet per day annually, while increasing LNG imports overnight is not possible because of infrastructure constraints.

“Even if we have the money, we cannot increase LNG imports overnight because we do not have the necessary infrastructure,” Amit said, noting that Bangladesh currently has two floating storage regasification units (FSRUs).

He said installing a new FSRU normally takes around 30 to 36 months, and the government will make every effort to make a new facility operational within two years.

The state minister said the government is considering a third and fourth FSRU while also working on the necessary pipeline infrastructure.

He said the government is also moving towards land-based LNG terminals as a long-term solution and has already identified land in Matarbari in Cox’s Bazar for such a terminal. “We have floated a tender for a transaction adviser for establishing an LNG terminal. The closing is today,” he said.

Amit added that a foreign private investor group has also expressed interest in establishing a large-scale LNG terminal and the government has asked the group to submit a formal proposal.

On LPG, he said the government wants to ensure its presence in the sector to help stabilise the market and protect consumers.

The state minister said only five or six operators currently import LPG, while many others have infrastructure and trained manpower but do not import the product.

“The government wants to use that infrastructure and manpower and import LPG in bulk to help stabilise the market,” he said.

Amit also said the government is targeting around 10,000 MW of renewable power generation within the next four and a half years, in line with its election manifesto target of obtaining 20 percent of total power generation capacity from renewable sources.

Turning to domestic energy resources, he stressed the need to increase local gas production and said the offshore bidding round will close in November.

On coal-based power plants, the state minister said experts have rightly pointed out that coal-fired generation could provide an important solution if plants could operate at around 85 percent capacity.

However, he said imported coal was putting pressure on foreign exchange reserves and stressed the need for a carefully considered decision on the use of Bangladesh’s own coal reserves.

Amit said the government will seek expert and stakeholder opinions to ensure the best use of domestic resources while protecting public interests.

He also announced plans to strengthen Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX), saying the government will focus not only on providing equipment but also on developing the technical skills of its officials.

“Many Bangladeshis working for foreign companies are performing well. If we can develop the capacity of our own people, they can become assets for Bangladesh,” the state minister said.

Referring to the recent disruption to an FSRU operated by Excelerate Energy, he said partial gas supply has been restored with the help of local and foreign experts, but one of the two boilers remained non-operational.

Amit said restoring the second boiler will require a temporary shutdown of the first boiler, creating a challenge for gas supply.

“We are discussing with them to determine a suitable 72-hour window when the impact on people will be minimal so that we can operate the facility at full capacity afterwards,” he said.

The state minister said the government will maintain transparency about problems in the power and energy sectors and keep people informed. “There is nothing to hide. As a government accountable to the people, we believe everything should be communicated clearly,” he said.