The government is likely to allow the rental and quick power plants to import their required petroleum fuels directly. The government will also allow the public sector plants to import petroleum products through formation of a fuel supply company instead of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, a senior official said.
The Power Division will place a proposal in this regard at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Monday to allow 16 rental and quick power plants to import fuel directly, Power Division Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad told on Thursday.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith will preside over the meeting. State Minister for Power and Energy Muhammed Enamul Huq will also attend the meeting. The Power Division will propose to allow the private power plants to import fuel, having capacity to generate 1372 megawatts of electricity, Abul Kalam Azad said. The division will also recommend providing nine percent service charge to the private power plants for importing the fuel, he said.
The Power Division will invite tender in the middle of next month to import petroleum fuels for 17 public sector power plants through formation of a joint venture company under public private partnership.
“We have already taken consent from the stakeholders to form the venture company styled ‘Fuel Supply Company’,” Power Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad told on Thursday.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will own 10 percent of the proposed company while Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will own 51 percent and the rest 39 percent will be owned by the sponsor company, officials said.
Earlier in November this year, BPC Chairman Md Abu Bakar Siddique requested the Power Division to form the proposed company excluding the state-run corporation.
Opposing the proposed terms and conditions for the company, Siddique told that the Power Division’s plan to sell petroleum by the proposed company might manipulate the market in terms of prices and quality.
In a letter sent to the Power Division, the BPC referred to the BPC Ordinance, 1976 (LXXXVIII, of 1976), that allows import and sales of petroleum products, their storage, distribution and marketing by the state-owned company.
The Power Division can form the company only if it agrees to take responsibility for supplying petroleum fuels to the power plants, the official said.
BPC opposed the proposal for open market sale of petroleum products by the company, he added.
Responding about the BPC apprehension, Power Division Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad told that the company would be formed at the consent of stakeholders.
Earlier, the government gave permission to allow import of fuel oil by the Khulna Power Plant (KPP) and the Power Division also provided 10 percent service charge to the KPP, which was built in 1998. The government has estimated 1.2 million tonnes of furnace oil and 0.80 million tonnes of diesel for the public and private sector power plants in 2012.
Source: Energybangla
