Staff Reporter :
Nagorik Oikya, a citizen’s platform, has accused the government of favoring its associates in the power sector at the expense of taxpayers.
Mahmudur Rahman Manna, President of Nagorik Oikya, made the allegation during a seminar held at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity on Saturday.
Manna claimed that the government has paid a staggering Tk 1,06,786 crore (over $12.8 billion USD) in capacity charges over the past 15 years. He alleged that “nearly all power sector subsidies are being funneled to government oligarchs” through these capacity charges paid to rental power plants.
According to Manna, a staggering 81 percent of power sector subsidies go towards capacity charges for these rental plants.
The seminar, presided over by Manna himself, featured discussions on the issue by prominent figures including Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) Central Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar, former Power Cell BD Director General Rahmatullah, and journalists Abu Saeed Khan and Mofakhkharul Islam Nawab.
Speakers at the event highlighted that electricity prices have raised significantly, with an 11-fold increase at the wholesale level and a 13-fold increase at the retail level over the past 15 years.
The citizen’s platform alleges that a recent rise in the dollar exchange rate by Tk7 will inflate power sector subsidies by Tk 5,000 crore (over $600 million USD), placing an additional strain on consumers.
Speakers at a seminar organized by Nagorik Oikya argued that the government’s reliance on rental and quick rental power plants has enriched its associates at the public’s expense. They allege that these plants have turned “government oligarchs into owners of thousands of crores overnight.”
The platform further accuses the government of granting impunity to the power sector. They claim that a special law shields the sector from legal accountability, essentially enabling “looting” within the power and energy industries.