Government has allocated Tk 27,930 crore for Energy and Power sector development in the proposed budget for fiscal 2019-20, which is Tk 3,217 crore more than it was in the
FY2018-19 budget. The amount is 13.8 per cent of the total budgetary allocation.
Finance Minister AHM Musfata Kamal figured out this allocation in his budget speech while placing the national budget for the fiscal year 2019-20. However, the Power Division was given Tk 26,014 crore while the Energy Division got Tk 1,916 crore for fiscal 2019-2020.
Describing the government's future plan in Power and Energy sector, the Finance Minister said the government set targets to generate 24,000 megawatts (MW) by 2021, 40,000 MW by 2030, and 60,000 MW by 2041.
"The benefits of these initiatives, are already visible, he said, adding that the power generation capacity has now increased to 21,169 MW, and the government has succeeded in providing access to electricity to approximately 93 percent of population," he said.
Besides, he said, projects for the construction of 53 power plants with capacity to generate 14,202 MW of electricity are underway, he added.
The Finance Minister described various initiatives taken by the government in last ten years including cross border energy and power trade, importing LNG and development in renewable energy projects. He said signing of an MoU between Bangladesh, India and Bhutan to import hydro-power from Bhutan is underway.
"There are targets to generate 10 percent of the total electricity from renewable sources by 2020," he added.
Aiming to promote electricity generation on the rooftops of private buildings using solar home system, a "Net Metering Guideline" has been prepared, he said adding that steps have been taken to install solar system panels on the rooftops of all educational institutions.
To enhance the capacity and capability of power system, Mustafa Kamal said the government has taken a series of actions in the last two terms to improve the transmission infrastructures and support the additional generation capacity of the nation.
"By the next year, each upazila of the country will have 100 percent access to electricity," he said.
About the energy sector, Mustafa Kamal said the government has undertaken short-, medium- and long-term plans to explore and extract unexplored gas and oil in land and sea areas.
The excavation work of 24 oil wells has been completed by BAPEX, he said adding that after gaining new maritime boundary from India and Myanmar, Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) have been signed with international oil companies for 4 offshore blocks to explore oil and gas in the sea areas of Bangladesh.
