State Minister for Power Ikbal Hasan Mahmud said several power plants could not generate power up to their capacity due to a shortage in the gas supply.

"Our plants cannot generate about 500 mw power due to a shortage in the gas supply. We have asked the energy division to supply adequate gas, and they assured us that the required supply will start from March 22," he told the meeting.

Responding to the blame, the State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources AKM Mosharraf Hossain, who attended the meeting as representative of the prime minister, said it should be determined if the shortage of the gas is the main reason for the power crisis or if there are other factors involved.

"Without putting all the blame on the shortage of the gas supply, the House body should see what actually is the problem behind the power generation crisis," a meeting source quoted him as saying.

Mosharraf, however, assured the meeting that they would be able to supply adequate gas to the power plants from March 22 as about 60 to 70 million more cubic feet (mmcfd) of gas per day will be added to the national grid from the Moulavibazar gas field this month. Besides, the Haripur gas field will add 15 mmcfd in a week, the committee Chairman Shahidul Islam later told reporters.

The two state ministers' explanations could not, however, satisfy the parliamentary standing committee of the power, energy and mineral resources ministry and it decided to hold a joint meeting with both two divisions on March 28 to identify the fault behind the crisis.

"We will try to identify at the joint meeting the reasons why people are now suffering from the power crisis," Shahidul said after the meeting held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Members of the parliamentary standing committee also expressed concern at the impact of the power crisis on irrigation this season.

"Farmers in the northern region are facing acute problems in irrigating their crop land due to the power crisis," said committee member Shamsuzzoha Khan.

Another committee member, Habibul Islam Habib, demanded an uninterrupted power supply for irrigation.

Explaining the power crisis, Ikbal said the Ghorasal power plant and the Ashuganj power plant cannot generate power up to their capacity due to the shortage of gas. The Ghorasal plant now generates only 370 mw, although its production capacity is 770mw. Two power plants in Ashuganj also generate at least 130mw less than their capacity.

The committee chairman, however, questioned the statistics on power generation provided by the power division at the meeting.

"The power division at a meeting on August 31, 2004 told us the total capacity of the power plants is 4,142 mw and they can generate 3,700 mw in peak hours. But on Tuesday last, it generated only 3,280 mw, about 500 mw less than the demand," he said.