The government is emphasising ad-hoc solutions to the country's electricity crisis, eschewing long-term action plans to ramp up primary energy resources, leading to a catastrophic energy crisis ahead, experts feared.

They said the government is now over reliant on short-term mechanisms to resolve energy crisis by setting up high-cost plants, neglecting the prospects of cheap and reliable energy sources.

The government high-ups have concentrated on building expensive rental power plants even without tenders, keeping the works to ensure utilisation of cheap and future energy resources like natural gas exploration and coal mine development at bay.

The state coffer is at risk of providing a colossal subsidy amounting to over Tk 150 billion by 2013 to run the high-cost diesel and furnace oil-based power plants.

"The government is implementing the high cost rental power plants to shrug off immediate crisis. But any visible move from the government to expedite coal extraction or natural gas exploration is still absent," Professor M Tamim of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told the FE Sunday.

Tenure of short-term rental power plants might be extended, if the country lacks primary energy resources, he cautioned.

Officials said the country is yet to tap the potential of its huge coal reserves, the cheapest primary source of energy, as development of the coalmines has been stalled for long in the name of 'finalising' national coal policy.

Despite having a reserve of over 3.0 billion tonnes of high quality coal, the governments in the past years did not take any pragmatic step to utilise it, except merely sitting with the draft of the national coal policy, said a senior Petrobangla official.

Foreign investments worth over US$5.0 billion is now hanging on the government's decision regarding the policy.

Besides, signing of production sharing contracts (PSCs) with two foreign firms - US ConocoPhillips and Irish Tullow - for offshore hydrocarbon exploration has been halted for over the past couple of years.

Previous caretaker government had launched the offshore bidding round in February 2008 for oil and gas exploration, which is now stalled over the row of maritime disputes with neighbouring India and Myanmar.

Launching of a fresh onshore bidding round is not yet decided despite lifting of High Court ban on signing PSCs last year.

The 'fast track' programme initiated by Petrobangla last year to augment gas production from the state-run gas-fields is not yet finalised.

Seepage in Titas gas-fields is still unabated due to negligence by the authorities concerned. The proposals from private sector to allow them build oil refinery facilities have remained shelved for long.

"Governments' stand for running after unsolicited rental power plants to generate electricity using expensive fuel sources is not at all acceptable," said Professor Anu Muhammad of Jahangirnagar University.

The government should go for renovating the age-old power plants instead of building high-cost rental power plants, he said. He also stressed for coal gasification mechanism to tape the country's huge coal reserve potential.

The local state-owned enterprises should be strengthened and engaged more in oil and gas exploration for a secure energy supply situation, he added.

At present the country is reeling under acute crisis of both electricity and natural gas with the electricity supply hovering around 4,200 megawatts against the demand for over 6,000 mw, and gas supply around 1,980 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) against the demand for over 2,200 mmcfd.

-The Financial Express