State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said the power supply situation may improve from November.
“We hope the power supply situation will improve from November. I’m optimistic and don’t want to make you pessimistic,” he told reporters after attending a seminar on renewable energy at Dhaka’s Brac Inn Centre on Thursday.
Earlier in August, the state minister had said that the power supply situation may improve from September, and later again said that load shedding would decrease from October.
Following a national power grid failure on October 4, 2022, the electricity supply situation deteriorated – increasing load shedding to 5-6 hours every day, reports UNB.
The government started implementing an austerity plan in July by suspending operations of all diesel-fired power plants to reduce fuel imports and save foreign currency. The import of LNG from the international spot market was also suspended for the same purpose, triggering frequent load shedding across the country.
Referring to the request of businessmen to resume LNG imports from the international spot market and to ensure uninterrupted gas and electricity supply to factories at a higher price, Nasrul said the government is assessing all the options.
“We’re working on it. Businessmen need uninterrupted gas supply at an affordable price,” he added. He also said that his ministry has sent a detailed proposal to Brunei on importing LNG and is now waiting for their response. It may take a week more to get a response from Brunei, he said.