State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid urged countrymen to be miser in using electricity and gas.

He made the suggestion in the wake of power and energy crises across the globe due to war between Russia and Ukraine.

However, he indicated that ongoing load shedding caused by the gas and fuel crisis will not last long.

“The electricity from second unit of Payra Thermal Power Station and Rampal Power Plant and 1600MW imported from India will be added to the national grid by this year,” he said in a written statement issued Tuesday.

The state minister advised people to use gas and electricity sparingly until things return to normal.

“The Russia-Ukraine war has plunged the world into a deep crisis just as everyone was recovering from the pandemic. This crisis has affected not only developing countries but also many developed countries as well. The effects of the war have made the fuel market extremely unstable,” his statement read.

He said that at present, daily gas production in the country is 2,300 million cubic feet. Around 1,600-1,700 million cubic feet is required for electricity generation. Only 900 million cubic feet gas is being supplied to power plants while prioritising the agriculture and industrial sectors.

“We cannot supply more gas as we have to prioritise agriculture and industrial sectors. Fertilisers are indispensable for agriculture. We need to supply a huge amount of gases to produce that too,” he said.

Since the country’s gas demand was greater than its gas production, the problem was being solved by importing LNG. However, if LNG is imported at a higher cost now, the nation’s economy might be under stress.

According to Nasrul Hamid, the cost of one unit of LNG was minimum $4 prior to Covid-19. It’s now over $41.

He said LNG is now coming under long-term agreements with Qatar and Oman.