bd EnergY LinK

Country would observe daylight saving time (DST) again from the midnight of March 31 as per the decision of the Cabinet, reports BSS.

“The clock will again be put forward by one hour from March 31, and it will remain so until October 31, 2010. The decision was made in light of factors such as the growing demand for electricity,” M Abul Kalam Azad, secretary of the power division, told the news agency Saturday.

Aimed at saving around 200mw of electricity during pick hours and to ensure electricity into the irrigation pumps smoothly, the government had introduced DST from June last.

“The amount of electricity saving is not the main issue, this system helps us a lot to face pick-hour demand in city areas,” Ataul Masud, managing director of Dhaka Power Development Company (DPDC) said.

According to the power division, the country would face severe load shedding this summer as the demand of electricity for irrigation has increased by 1500-1600mw than that of the previous year, as the government targeted more production of Boro.

“Power Development Board (PDB) could pro duce 4100-4200mw on an average against the estimated demand of 6,000mw in this summer,” a top official of the power division said.

According to the power ministry, the government has taken various measures to address the power crisis, which needs two to three years to implement.

“We are working on war footing, we are just addressing the issue on adhoc basis as we don’t have adequate quantity of fuel and efficient power plants. In this situation we all have to stop misuse of power and to use efficient appliance to save energy,” the power secretary said.

The DST will be back by one hour on October 31 this year.