State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit has said the government is taking every possible step to ease the ongoing gas crisis and improve the country’s power supply situation.
“We have adopted a strategy since Tuesday evening. Hopefully, the situation will improve soon,” he told reporters at the Secretariat on Wednesday while briefing them on the latest developments in the power and energy sectors.
Amit said an LNG cargo is currently waiting to be unloaded at the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) operated by Summit Group, but rough weather in the Bay of Bengal has prevented the vessel from unloading the cargo.
At the same time, the FSRU operated by Excelerate Energy is running at around 50 percent capacity because one of its two boilers is out of service.
According to the state minister, the Excelerate-operated FSRU will need to be shut down for about 72 hours to carry out the necessary repairs and restore full capacity. However, no decision has yet been made on when the maintenance work will begin.
“We are discussing the matter with the FSRU authorities and will consult the business community before taking a decision,” he said.
Amit said Bangladesh is currently receiving LNG through the two FSRUs and disruptions at both terminals have adversely affected gas supplies.
“If there is not enough gas supply, it is not possible to provide the required amount of gas to power plants, which affects electricity generation and supply,” he said.
Efforts to Import LNG from Malaysia
On Bangladesh’s efforts to import LNG from Malaysia, Amit said a Bangladeshi delegation had already visited Malaysia following a virtual meeting between the two countries.
“Work is underway on the proposal given by Malaysia. We hope at least one LNG cargo will be available from there,” he said.
He said importing LNG through ISO tanks would require a separate process because the required tanks are not readily available in the market. The initiative could serve as a medium-term solution, he added.
“We are working on all the options that are available to us,” Amit said when asked about measures being considered to address the crisis.
He said energy experts discussed the situation at a seminar at Dhaka Club on Tuesday, while the government is also consulting business leaders and seeking their recommendations.
No Specific Timeline Yet
Asked whether the government could provide a specific timeframe for improvement in the power situation, Amit said he was not in a position to give one.
He acknowledged that people want a clear message from the government but said the authorities are making every possible effort to address their suffering.
“We are making a vital effort considering the suffering of the people. I think the people understand this. There is no flaw in our efforts,” he said.
Amit also pointed out that the government has limited options in dealing with the current situation, particularly because natural conditions are beyond its control.
Blames Previous Govt’s Policy
The state minister blamed policy weaknesses of the previous government for the current energy crisis.
He said the previous administration focused on short-term measures rather than adopting medium- and long-term strategies for the power and energy sectors.
“When you adopt the wrong policy, you will have to pay the price at some point,” Amit said, adding that the previous government pursued immediate solutions without developing sustainable medium- and long-term plans.
He said the current crisis could have emerged at any time and would eventually have required a solution.
However, Amit regretted that people are now having to face the impact of the crisis during the summer, when demand for electricity and gas is particularly high.
