DHAKA, July 26: The Bangladesh’s state minister for power regretted on Tuesday that the South Asian power grid could not be installed for ensuring a reserve of 100,000 megawatt of power in the region even for years after the plan. “For years, we have been sitting on the potential for forming a regional grid of about 100,000mw of hydroelectricity which could be generated in Nepal, Bhutan, and the Indian state of Assam,” said Iqbal Hasan Mahmood while inaugurating a three-day workshop for the energy reporters of South Asian countries at a local hotel.

Issues relating to setting up of the South Asian power grid came up for discussion at the early 1990s and Bangladesh proposed for the grid after the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in New Delhi in 1995.

Nepal has a potential of producing about 43,000mw of hydroelectricity, Bhutan 30,000mw, and Assam over 10,000mw. Bangladesh has also natural gas reserve to produce power. India, however, has not shown much interest in the installation of the grid as it has bilateral arrangements on power with Nepal and Bhutan.

“It is unfortunate that no high-level official talks, including the ministerial level ones, could be held over the years on the power grid. Only junior officials held few meetings without much success,” Mr Mahmood said. “We can still explore the potentiality of the regional power grid region which will supply the countries electricity at cheap rate.”

Referring the common power pool in North American and European countries, the minister said: “We, the South Asians, should take it seriously. Time has come to share the electricity.”

Mr Mahmood informed the participants that power ministers from Saarc countries would meet in Islamabad from September 29 to October 1 to formulate recommendations for the Saarc summit to be held in Dhaka in November.

“Issues on the regional power grid would be discussed elaborately in the summit,” he said. Energy and mineral resources division adviser Mahmudur Rahman also stressed on the potentiality of hydroelectricity in the region. He said in the coming days, those countries would compete hard which would have energy security.

In reply to a question of one of the Indian reporters, Mr Mahmood said Dhaka was waiting for the response from India regarding to the tri-nation gas pipeline from Myanmar to India through Bangladesh.

Journalists from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are taking part in the workshop conducted by the US Energy Association, and sponsored by the US Agency for International Development and the South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy.