The Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) organized a roundtable discussion on Energy and Power Crisis on Sunday, November 12, 2007 at the BEI Conference Room.

Mr. Tapan Chowdhury, the Adviser, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (GoB), graced the occasion as the chief guest. Mr. Farooq Sobhan, President, BEI, chaired the roundtable discussion.

From Left to Right: Ms. Shaila Khan, Senior Programme Officer, UNDP, Mr. Tapan Chowdhury, Honourable Adviser, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, GoB; Mr. Farooq Sobhan, President, BEI; and Mr. A. M. M. Nasir Uddin, Member, Physical and Energy, Planning Commission, and Former Secretary, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, GoB

The roundtable was part of an ongoing initiative, Promoting Good Governance; Key Reform Challenges facing Bangladesh, undertaken by BEI, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program. This initiative was launched in August 2007 and the discussion on Energy and Power Crisis, the second in the series of roundtable discussions, was preceded by one on The Anticorruption Drive and the Way Forward held in September, 2007.

In his address, Mr. Chowdhury stressed the important role of power and energy as a key input into ensuring sustainable development and alleviating poverty over the long term. He further highlighted several key characteristics of the power and energy sector in Bangladesh.

In the power sector, Mr. Chowdhury explained that the current crisis arose out of a shortfall in power generation capacity, as only 3,500-3,700 MW of power can be produced daily to meet a need of around 4,400 MW. He stressed that the government had developed both short term and long term strategies to mitigate the crisis. In the short term, the focus has been on load management, whereas the long term strategy hinges on increasing power generation, through a combination of public and private power projects.

Gas, one of the most important energy sources of the country, was slightly better off, he indicated. The Adviser highlighted estimates that the proven reserves would last till 2011. However, he stressed, without sufficient expansion of the base, the country would face a net deficit in gas supply from domestic sources. To prevent such a deficit from occurring, the government had placed emphasis on increasing exploration in different gas blocks both within the country and offshore.

The Adviser further stated that the country currently had proven coal reserves and stressed the importance of the development and proliferation of renewable energy sources. A Coal Policy is also being developed to govern the sector, he added. Mr. Chowdhury highlighted several initiatives that the government has planned to strengthen the capacity of institutions in the power and energy sectors.

The projected investment necessary to achieve the goals was an estimated US$ 11.5 billion in power generation and transmission, and a further US$ 8 million in gas exploration and extraction. He requested development partners and the private sector to work closely with the government in ensuring that the investment requirements were met and that the power and energy sectors could be efficient and sustainable in the future.

Ms. Shaila Khan, Senior Programme Officer, UNDP, congratulated BEI for its work in organizing the series of roundtables in order to develop a framework that would be support the government’s future reforms.

In his final remarks, Mr. Farooq Sobhan emphasized the importance of energy in allowing Bangladesh to take part in the rapid growth occurring in India, China and in South Asia. He reiterated that the challenge that remained was the timely and efficient extraction and use of these resources. He highlighted the need for the government to expedite the process, but also stressed the importance of transparency in the process.

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