He said the two divisions under his ministry- the Power Division and the Energy and Mineral Resources Division — will ensure adequate supply of natural gas and liquid fuel to power plants through a coordinated effort.

He gave the assurance at a virtual inter-ministerial coordination meeting convened by his ministry to discuss the measures taken by different entities to ensure uninterrupted power supply for the coming irrigation season.

Irrigation season normally begins in February and continues until May 31 during which electricity demand rises.

It was informed at the meeting that electricity demand was recorded at 11,977MW in May last year while it is assumed that the demand will go up to 14,000MW during the coming irrigation season.

The demand for natural gas is calculated to be 1,550 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in the coming season while the furnace oil demand will go up to 22,000 metric tonnes and diesel’s possible demand will reach 6,100MT per day.

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Nasrul Hamid instructed state-owned Petrobangla to supply natural gas to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) as per its requirement.

He observed that the demand for electricity has been increasing following completion of cent percent electrification coverage across the country.

Coordination emphasised for uninterrupted power

The state minister asked the concerned agencies under his ministry to build coordination with other government entities like Bangladesh Railway, BIWTA and Roads and Highway Department to ensure smooth transportation of petroleum fuels to the power plants.

“At least two-month fuel reserve must be ensured and there must be focal point officials at every stages of the management for strong coordination,” he told the top officials.

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He also asked them to coordinate with other concerned departments and entities to ensure adequate coal production and supply to the coal-based power plants.

Nasrul Hamid directed the top officials of the Power Division and its subordinate bodies to commence a live monitoring system so that maintenance works are properly done in power stations before start of the irrigation season and no interruption occurs in power generation, transmission and distribution system.

He specially instructed the officials to address the low voltage problem in power supply in the northern districts like Rangpur, Dinajpur, Panchaghar, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat and Kurigram.

The meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Railway, BIWTA, and BIWTC.

Power secretary Habibur Rahman, BPDB Chairman Belayet Hossain and Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain, among others, attended the virtual meeting.