No gas for fertiliser factories during Boro season

The government has decided to stop gas supply to fertiliser factories from the next month to support the irrigation pumps during the Boro season.
"We have decided to stop gas supply to the fertilizer factories to increase gas supply to power plants," an official of Petrobangla said.
 The decision has recently been taken at an inter-ministerial meeting with State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid in the chair.
 The country will require around 1200mmcfd gas to generate 11,400MW of electricity during the Boro season, officials said.
However, only two out of six fertiliser factories are now operational due to scarcity of gas supply.  
The power plants currently receive only 859.1mmcfd of gas against the requirement of 1,841mmcfd suspending electricity production at over a dozen power plants.
 Power Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus earlier said the government is prioritising electricity generation for Boro cultivation that received a severe blow due to flood last year.
 According to Rural Electrification Board Chairman Maj Gen (Rtd) Moin Uddin they provided electricity connections to at least 3 lakh power irrigation pumps while applications for another 15,000 connections are pending.
Power Division sources said the government is mulling over a planned loadshedding to keep the electricity supply uninterrupted in Boro season as it had decided to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am during the irrigation period.
The government will also discourage the running of irrigation pumps from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm.