PM apologises for power crisis, assures swift steps to restore energy supply

Highlights

• PM expects gas shortages to ease significantly within days
• Government is addressing immediate and structural energy sector problems
• Limited LNG storage capacity worsened the current gas crisis
• He challenged opposition parties to present practical, workable solutions
• Government will unveil a long-term energy plan in parliament

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (15 August) apologised to the people for the ongoing power and gas shortages and assured that his government was taking urgent steps to ease the crisis, expressing hope that the gas situation would improve significantly within the next few days.

Addressing a cheque distribution and doa mahfil programme at the Mohakhali TNT field under Dhaka–17 constituency, he also urged opposition political parties criticising the government over the crises to come up with concrete, workable plans to resolve the problems instead of creating confusion among the people.

"I sincerely apologise to the people for the suffering caused by the power crisis…I hope that, with Allah's mercy, the gas crisis will ease considerably within the next few days," Tarique Rahman said.

The local units of BNP and its associate bodies arranged the programme marking the 81st birth anniversary of former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Cheques were distributed among 682 distressed, helpless and sick people at the programme.

The prime minister said the government was aware that people in different parts of the country were suffering from electricity shortages.

He said the government was taking necessary steps to address both the immediate crisis and the structural weaknesses in the energy sector.

Tarique Rahman said the current gas shortage was linked to Bangladesh's limited LNG storage and regasification capacity.

"Gas was once a natural resource of Bangladesh. But over the past 17 years, the autocratic government did not explore new gas fields and instead left the entire sector dependent on foreign sources," he said.

Tarique Rahman said soon after his elected government assumed office, it had decided to expedite gas exploration on Bangladeshi soil through Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, with the aim of keeping control of the country's gas fields in the hands of Bangladeshis.

"At present, we have to import a large portion of our gas. The facilities for storing it through the vessels used to bring in gas were limited to only two vessels. During the previous government, arrangements were made for another vessel, but the interim government later cancelled that initiative. As a result, when an accident suddenly occurred involving one of the two existing vessels, the current gas crisis emerged," he said.

The prime minister, however, said they have already addressed the technical problems. "We are working to free people from this hardship as quickly as possible."

He said the government was working with China and other countries to expedite the construction and deployment of the vessel.

Tarique Rahman also said he had spoken to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim seeking assistance with the country's gas requirements.

He urged people to remain patient, noting that specialised LNG vessels require considerable time to build and are produced by only a limited number of countries.

The prime minister also challenged political parties criticising the government over the power and gas shortages to present concrete alternatives.

"If you have a better plan, bring it before parliament and the people. If that plan is realistic and can solve the problems within six months, we will implement it," he said.

Tarique Rahman urged political leaders to avoid creating confusion and instead help people understand the difficulties and possible solutions.

He said the government would present its longer-term plan for resolving the country's energy problems in parliament's coming session.

The prime minister said the government had been working since taking office to rebuild key sectors, including energy, but cautioned that it was unrealistic to expect all accumulated problems to be resolved within six months.

"Even a child takes around 15 to 18 months to learn to walk, even when holding someone's hand. The age of your elected government is only six months," he said.

Tarique Rahman urged political parties to abandon confrontational politics and focus on presenting practical proposals for national development.

"Politics is not about confusing the people. A politician's responsibility is to help people remain patient and show them the right path," he said.

The prime minister said the people wanted development, accountability and improvement in their living standards rather than street agitation and disorder.

"Bringing destruction to the streets and creating disorder is over. The people no longer support that kind of politics," he said.

Tarique Rahman said the country's 20 crore people represented 40 crore hands that needed to be transformed into productive and skilled workers to change Bangladesh's economic fortunes.

"What I received is not the most important thing; what I could give to this country and its people is what matters," he said.

The prime minister also paid tribute to Khaleda Zia on her 81st  birth anniversary and called for renewed commitment to building the country along the path of development and democracy.