Staff Reporter: Due to the government’s wrong policies, the continuing losses of the Power Development Board (PDB) will increase by 196 percent to 18 thousand crore rupees by 2025. Even after the increase in electricity prices and government subsidies, the company will incur huge losses. Research Director of CPD, Khandkar Golam Moazzem, gave this information in a presentation entitled ‘Challenges and Proposals in the Power and Energy Sector’ in the proposed 2024-25 financial year budget at Mohakhali BRAC in the capital on Sunday.
Member of Parliament AK Azad was present on the occasion. Professor Dr. Buet spoke among others. M. Tamim, Rector of Bangladesh Power Management Institute Mohammad Alauddin, Director General of Power Cell Mohammad Hossain, Energy Advisor of Consumer Rights Organization CAB Professor Dr. Shamsul Alam and others.
While presenting the main article, he said that the government’s plan to produce 60,000 megawatts of electricity by 2041 is ambitious. At that time, even with 25 percent additional reserve, a maximum of 35,000 megawatts of electricity is enough. Energy crisis due to overcapacity and constraints in distribution and transmission lines are not able to generate electricity as per demand. As a result there is load shedding despite having surplus power. Again a huge amount of capacity charge has to be paid by installing the power plant. As a result, PDB’s losses are increasing. Along with this, the price of consumer electricity is also increasing. Dr. Moazzem said BPC shows losses at the beginning of the year but at the end of the year they make a profit.
What are they actually doing? The process by which they are determining the price of oil needs to be looked into. He suggested reducing the use of fossil fuel based power plants as they are harmful to the environment and expensive and increase the use of renewable energy.
Moazzem said, despite the high cost, the government is increasing the import of fuel. High cost of fuel will come out. Domestic gas exploration needs to be more serious. He advised the government to work towards transition to smart grid system along with development of transmission and distribution lines for uninterrupted power system.
Gholam Moazzem said that the government has taken refuge in the power sector, saying that the government is subsidizing electricity on the one hand. On the other hand, DPDC says that they are earning 3,500 crore rupees annually.
He said that the initiative taken by the government to reduce the electricity subsidy after listening to the conditions of the IMF, will not be a sustainable solution and will not solve the problems of this sector. The government’s initiative to increase power generation and supply to reduce the budget will not bear fruit. As a result, the government will increase the price on one hand to reduce the electricity subsidy. This will prevent the crisis and mismanagement of this sector.
Consumer rights organization CAB Energy Advisor Professor Dr. M Shamsul Alam said, BPC (Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation) is deeply involved in corruption. He alleged that the corruption of this government institution has been coordinated in the name of automatic fuel price adjustment.
He said that according to the law, the sole responsibility of determining the price of fuel oil belongs to Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, but BPC is determining the price of oil. I filed a case in court about it. Later the state protected the corruption of this institution.