The industry owners should introduce energy conservation appliances in their factories to ensure efficient use of gas, said Prime Minister's Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury yesterday.
“If we could make our industries efficient in consuming gas, it would reduce at least one-third of their gas consumption. This would not only benefit the Titas Gas company, but also help the factory owners reduce their gas bills,” he said at a seminar in the capital.
Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company organised the discussion on “National Capacity Building for Improving the Energy Efficiency of Industrial Boiler and Furnaces” at Sonargaon Hotel.
German donor agency GIZ assisted Titas to organise the seminar under its Sustainable Energy Development (SED) programme.
State Minister for Power and Energy Mohammad Enamul Haque, Petrobangla Chairman Hossain Mansur, Titas Gas Managing Director Abul Aziz Khan and GIZ Program Coordinator Erich Otto Gomm also spoke.
The country's different industries have about 1,000 gas-fired boilers. But, most of those are often blamed by experts to be inefficient in consuming gas.
As part of its efforts to encourage the industries to ensure efficient use of gas in their boilers, the Titas gas undertook a programme to convert those into efficient ones.
The adviser said Titas should convert at least 20 industrial boilers into efficient ones in next six months to show their seriousness.
He, however, expressed his frustration about a poor presence of industrial entrepreneurs at the seminar, saying that the industry owners should come forward to introduce efficient system for their own sake. “But today they are not present though they are very vocal about the gas crisis.”
Mohammad Enamul Haque said if the industries use efficient boilers, it would save at least 25 percent in their consumptions. He urged Titas and Petrobangla to launch motivation programmes to encourage the industries to use efficient boilers.
The Petrobangla chairman said if the industries use efficient boilers, it would help save 95 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) against the country's total gas production of 2,000 mmcfd.
He criticised the members of the civil society for not portraying the government's success stories while taking part in TV talk-shows.
He said Petrobangla has recently discovered a new gas structure about which the prime minister will make a formal announcement soon.