State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that industries across the country will remain closed one day a week under a fresh area-based load shedding plan.Under a staggering programme an area-based factory holidays will be maintained to minimise consumption of both natural gas and electricity.He made the announcement after a meeting with business leaders at Bidyut Bhaban in the city on Sunday.The rationing system will help saving around 500-550 MW of electricity, he said.The government earlier on April 12 had imposed a four hour gas rationing for industries across the country from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm daily to save natural gas. Read: Rangamati admin sets new octane-run autorickshaw fares considering price hike Although initial decision was to continue gas rationing for 15 days, the government backed down and withdrew it after 10 days of its execution amid protests from business enterprises.During the meeting Nasrul said that the countrywide load-shedding will ease in September.“Load-shedding can come down to half from the current level in September and the country may get rid of load-shedding from October,” he added.During the meeting the business leaders requested to provide uninterrupted electricity supply and keep the captive power plants outside the purview of tariff hike.Senior vice president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, acting president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Shahid Ullah Azim were among the top business leaders took part in the meeting.Under an ongoing austerity measure all the diesel-fired power plants are now shut and load-shedding is being implemented officially from July 19 to reduce diesel imports and save foreign currency.Although area-based load-shedding was scheduled for one hour, it continued for three hours at a time in some city areas across the country, it is alleged.Load-shedding in rural and remote areas, however, stretched for more hours, consumers claim.Markets and shopping malls can now stay open until 8:00 pm.The government also prohibited illumination in different social gatherings in community centers, shopping malls, shops, offices and houses since July 7.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed on Wednesday directed all the police units to be frugal in power consumption in order to properly comply with government's regulations on power saving in the current context of energy crisis.  The IGP gave this instruction in a meeting held at the police headquarters on Wednesday.  The IGP requested all the police members to follow the call of the Prime Minister, 'I turn off the switch in my room myself'.  Read: Perform duties with new impetus: IGP He said, for the national interest and welfare of the country, we have to be economical in the use of electricity.   The top official of Bangladesh Police has given order to limit the use of electric lights and AC in all the establishments of Bangladesh Police, including police headquarters. " Ensure maximum use of sunlight during the day," he adviced.  Additional IGs of Police Headquarters and other senior police officers were present in the meeting. 

A parliamentary watchdog on power, energy and mineral resources ministry set an example on Tuesday by holding its meeting without using air conditioners and even electric lights to save electricity. The day light from outside was good enough to conduct the meeting at the cabinet room of the Parliament building, said Awami League lawmaker Waseqa Ayesha Khan who presided over the meeting as the chairperson of the Standing Committee on the ministry.Waseqa claimed that the lawmakers and other participants at the meeting welcomed the move, which sources said was the first such committee meeting held without ACs and electric lights amid extreme summer heat outside even though there was no load shedding. She said the day light outside was also sufficient for them to conduct the meeting. Read: Metro Rail (MRT Line-6) project cost goes up by Tk 11,486 cr; Gets Ecnec nodThe committee asked the power ministry to conduct energy audit on different government buildings to identify their energy efficiency.The activities of the Chief Electric Inspector (CEI) and its role in the overall power management of the country were discussed in the meeting.The Awami League MP from reserved women seat Waseqa said that initially the parliamentary watchdog has asked for an energy audit on a government building that consumes significant amount of power due to use of air conditioners.“The power division with the assistance of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority was asked to conduct the audit,” she said. Read: PM reiterates call to practice austerity in all spheres of lifeShe also mentioned that after getting the audit report, it will determine the next course of action in this regard.She said that the parliamentary watchdog wants all the government buildings to turn into energy efficient structures to save power and protect environment.The meeting discussed foreign loan repayment plan taken against the power generation projects of the country. The report regarding payment of capacity charges was presented to the committee.The committee recommended making regulations for repayment of loans and interest on loans against power plants.

The government has imposed a bar on decorative illumination of houses, community centres, shopping malls, shopping centres, offices and residences until further order to save electricity. Also read: Govt issues directives to celebrate Eid maintaining health protocols, austerityThe restriction was imposed on Thursday in the wake of an exorbitant rise in the prices of petroleum fuels on the global market, said a press release of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Also read: Govt mulls rescheduling office timing amid power shortage, says energy advisor

Office timing may be rescheduled with the introduction of a provision to work from home for certain days in order to save electricity. Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury hinted this while briefing the media on outcomes of a high level meeting of the top officials of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and its subordinate bodies at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday.    “We’ll recommend to the government to reschedule the office timing from 9 am to 3 pm and also allow officials to work from home for two or three days a week”, he told reporters. Read: PM seeks people’s support to cut power subsidy amid hard times The Cabinet Division will take the final decision, he added, saying that the Education Ministry will take decisions about educational institutions. He also announced a series of austerity measures that the meeting would recommend to implement like limited use of air conditions in offices, markets and mosques and keep the level of coolness at 25 degree celsius and strictly follow the market closing time at 8 pm after the Eid as part of the demand management in electricity consumption. The wedding ceremony has to be completed within an hour from 7 to 8 pm as part of the management.