State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has ruled out the possibility of purchasing crude oil from Russia.
The government will not buy crude oil from Russia as the fuel’s specification will not match with the requirements of refineries in Bangladesh, he said while addressing a “Meet the Press” on Tuesday, reports UNB.
Nasrul Hamid urged the businesspeople to stop commenting on rental power plants as he ruled out any reduction in power tariffs.
“They (businesses) should talk about uninterrupted and quality power supply at affordable price…from which kind of plants they are getting electricity should not be their subject,” he said.
He also said there is no possibility that the electricity tariff will decrease. It may go up, but will remain within affordability
He mentioned that many countries are facing difficulties in keeping their price lower amid the global situation after the Russia-Ukraine war.
“You should not think that you would get electricity at the same price that you were getting 13 years back. You should not expect that”, he said responding to a question about the government’s assurance that the power tariff will gradually be cut down within 4-5 years after a temporary rise due to costly rental and quick rental power plants.
Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) jointly organised the event titled: “BPDB’s 50th Anniversary: Achievements and Challenges” at Biduyt Bhaban in the city.
BPDB Chairman Mahbubur Rahman and FERB chairman Shamim Jahangir also addressed the function while it was moderated by FERB executive director Rishan Nasrullah.
Reacting to the FBCCI’s demand for shutting down the rental and quick rental power plants, Nasrul said “If fabric merchants talk about power plants from which we should get electricity, it’s not fair.”
“If your problem is about the uninterrupted power supply, then it’s okay”, he said.
“You should not advise about the dos and don’ts….You should talk about whether the power supply situation has improved or not”, he added.
Defending the BPDB’s moves about raising power tariffs, the state minister said the income of the people has increased too.
“Now the people’s thoughts should be about the quality supply of electricity,” he said.