Representatives of energy regulatory bodies of the SAARC countries on Monday agreed to form a common forum to facilitate trans-border energy trade in the region.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission chairman announced the decision taken on the last day of a two-day first SAARC energy regulators’ meeting which began on Sunday at a city hotel.
At a press conference after the meeting, AR Khan, the BERC chairman, said that the forum would facilitate
trans-border energy trade by removing different legal and technical barriers.
BERC member Salim Mahmud and SAARC secretariat director Mohammad Ibrahim Ghafoori attended the press conference.
The decision of forming the common energy regulatory forum was taken following a framework agreement for regional power trade which was signed during the 18th SAARC summit held on November 27 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The authorities concerned were thinking of removing restrictions on marketing energy by the private sector, AR Khan said, adding that they wanted to treat electricity as a product.
In Bangladesh, the public sector authorities solely deal with energy transmission and marketing.
The private entrepreneurs would be able to sell electricity directly to the consumers after the
withdrawal of the restrictions, the BERC chairman said.
There are differences in standards of energy transmission and distribution, electricity in particular, in the South Asian countries which should be eliminated to form a common energy market in the region, officials said.
Ibrahim said that they had a successful meeting and the SAARC secretariat would implement the decision in phases.
-With New Age input
