Govt's CFL project suffers setback: WB refuses to provide additional fund

The government's countrywide programme to replace the existing incandescent bulb with energy saving compact florescent lights (CFLs) has suffered a setback as the World Bank has refused to provide additional fund for procurement of 23 million lights.

The Washington-based lender has recently turned down a government request for financing the second phase of project saying it is not ready at this moment to provide more fund.

The Bank has already given US$15 million to procure 10.5 million CFLs, which consume less electricity, in the first phase of the renewable energy project.

The Economic Relations Division (ERD) a couple of month ago sought an additional $27.5 million from the World Bank to implement the second phase.

The state-owned Rural Electrification Board (REB) has already invited tenders for supply of 10.5 million bulbs under the first phase.

The government last year took up the programme to replace the existing incandescent bulbs with 33.5 million CFL in the urban and rural areas throughout the country at free of cost.

Energy ministry officials said the 33.5 million CFL bulbs will save nearly 360-megawatt (mw) electricity.

The REB has a plan to distribute 60 per cent from the total 33.5 million CFL

bulbs in the rural areas while the rest 40 per cent will be handed over to the urban areas by the PDB, DPDC, DESCO and other power distributors.

An ERD official said a World Bank project review mission last week suggested the government to get necessary money from the Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL)'s $100 million fund under a renewable energy project.

The IDCOL too has refused to divert $27.5 million from its fund, he said.

"So, the procurement of 23 million additional energy saving lamps under the second phase has become uncertain," the ERD official said.

The government had a plan to distribute 10.5 million CFLs during the Boro rice cultivation season, which started in early January, in a bid to save electricity and divert it to run power pimps for irrigation.

Power distributors said some additional 1500mw of electricity has been added to the national grid for operation of the irrigation pumps during the Boro season (January to April).

The demand for electricity is rising at an eight percent annually in Bangladesh.