PM’s Energy Advisor: Westerners have put us into the danger

Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury has blamed the current energy crisis in Bangladesh on the West.

"This not our self-creation. The Westerners have put us into danger," he told a virtual seminar titled “Sustainable Energy Security in Bangladesh: Vision of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman”, organized by Bangladesh Energy Society (BES) on Sunday.

Defending the current petroleum fuel price hike by more than 50%, he said Bangladesh is not the only country to have raised the price. Even the countries like the US have increased the price.

“Per gallon of petrol is being sold at $5 in the USA which is equivalent to Tk120-130 per litre”, he told the seminar.

He said new innovative solutions like solar-run fast charging station for three wheelers, cooking through electric oven should be introduced to shift the load of electricity to bring a rationality in the system.

Eminent energy expert Dr Tamim said the price of petroleum has already come down in the US to $3 from $5 per gallon.

Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury

He said the government should have decreased the fuel price much earlier when price had decreased in the global market. Now again the energy price was raised by about 50% in one go. He said the oil price may witness a decline soon as it always happens in cyclic order that after a rise, supply increases in the market, price automatically falls.

About the gas exploration, he said there should not be much more dependency on the state-owned Bapex for hydrocarbon exploration as it failed to make remarkable breakthroughs in the last 50 years.

“Now foreign companies should be awarded contracts for both onshore and offshore explorations,” he added.

The former principal secretary to PM and president of BES Abul Kalam Azad presided over the event while Energy and Power magazine editor Mollah Amzad Hossain conducted it. Chief of 71 TV Mozammel Babu said use of induction oven for cooking should be encouraged through mandatory provision as it is more competitive compared with use of gas-oven.

He said the government should move for massive solar power project implementation like Vietnam which already set up 20,000 MW solar power projects.

Aziz Khan said foreign oil companies will not be interested to invest in gas exploration until they have been given the option for gas export.

He said many local companies could be interested to invest in exploration if there is change in the policy.