2. Minimise use of expensive and scarce liquid fuel in all fields. All petrol and diesel engine run vehicles should be switched over to using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) i.e. butane or propane gas at the earliest. We could also consider using LP gas extensively for cooking instead of using our valuable natural gas. This will save our forest resources besides minimising use of kerosene-- another expensive liquid fuel that we have to import. Agricultural pumps should also use alternative fuel e.g. CNG or LPG instead of diesel.

Railway engines could also use alternative fuel instead of diesel. This will minimise pilferage of diesel fuel, besides there will be great savings in costs of fuel. All inland passenger and cargo vessels can also be modified to run on alternative fuel or on dual fuel i.e. small percentage of diesel along with alternative fuel. All these should be able to reduce our import of liquid fuel considerably thereby bringing down our fuel bill to a great extent. Brazil has been mixing ethanol derived from sugarcane with diesel fuel and they are using the mixture as diesel substitute. Though of late they have developed engine that can operate on pure ethanol. The Brazilian authorities claim that it is worthwhile producing ethanol from sugarcane when the crude price exceeds 37$/barrel. I feel that we could convert our existing sugar mills to sugar refinery (partially) and ethanol manufacturing plants. We could import raw sugar and refine these in these refineries to meet our domestic needs and export any surplus that we may have. Ethanol derived from sugarcane could be mixed with diesel to reduce our fuel bill. This I am sure will make both the sugar refinery and ethanol plant profitable and the farmers will get fair price for their produce. The sugar refinery will run for the whole year and the ethanol plant seasonally.

3. South Africa is trying to develop liquid fuel from coal. We could co-operate with them in this regard or at least keep an eye on the developments taking place there.

4. We have to conserve our limited natural gas resources. We must not use our gas for our future fertiliser plants. Instead, we should build our natural gas based fertiliser factories in the Gulf region where natural gas is available at a fraction of the cost of our own natural gas. We could produce fertiliser there for our own use besides exporting to other countries.

5. All our future electricity generation plants must be coal based. We should also keep our option for nuclear power plants open. For us nuclear energy is the best option available to us and we should actively pursue it.

6. We should modify our existing "Bangladesh Diesel Plant" to produce engine that runs on alternative fuel e.g. CNG or LPG. The engines produced in this plant could be used to replace existing engines in automobiles, power pump engines, engines for mechanised boats etc. The plant could also convert existing diesel engines in use to use alternative fuel at a considerably cheaper cost and this will go a long way in converting almost all our portable and automotive engines to using alternative fuel in place of expensive diesel fuel. The conversion will also reinvigorate this sick plant.

7. It is very strange that we have to look for donors to finance new power projects. The charges we pay for our electricity is not less than what is paid by subscribers in our neighbouring countries. Besides, for electricity generation the rate paid for natural gas is less than one third of the prevalent international market rate of such fuel. Under such circumstances, power generation and distribution companies should be floating on money and should easily be able to finance their new power plants out of their own earnings. If required they could take commercial loan and should also be able to repay that out of their own earnings. I would like to know why that is not happening. Is it because of massive corruption in the power sector? Or is it inefficiency and negligence? Or both? What is the reason? The reason must be investigated and found out and those responsible for the present sorry state of the power sector must be brought to book. If this is done, only then can we find out means of getting out of the present quagmire that we are in.

I would also request the honourable minister in charge of power not to act as CEO of PDB, DESA, DESCO, REB etc. The running of these organisations should be left to honest and efficient professionals of proven track record rather than very poorly paid engineers who have their eyes on making money only.

The government must also realise that poor pay only attracts substandard professionals and the result is what we are seeing. To run a commercial undertaking profitably and efficiently, it must have the best professionals available in the country to work for the organisation and they have to be paid a salary their peers in the private sector get and that attracts them. It is said, "If you throw peanuts, you only attract monkeys." So there is no alternative to competent professionals for running a massive technical undertaking such as the power sector.