Barishal Correspondent :
The long process of transformation in energy sector by the government is not consumer friendly. The development claimed by the government, has made by creating an emergency in energy sector, but it has become a source of suffering also. These problems will be solved only when the government considers it important for political reasons on their own interests.
The speakers and participants called upon the citizens to speak out against the looting process of energy policy. The speakers and participants said these in an exchange of views meeting on ‘Civil Society Proposed National Energy Transformation Policy and Planning’ on Wednesday at an auditorium of the city. Energy expert Shamsul Alam was the main speaker at the programme organised by Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), Barishal branch.
Under the chairmanship of freedom fighter Mohiuddin Manik, it was addressed among others by Panel Mayor of Barishal City Corporation Kohinur Begum, President of Conscious Citizen Committee Principal Gazi Zahid Hossain, Head of Department of Physics of Barishal University Khorshed Alam, NGO activists Rahima Sultana Kajal, Nazrul Haque Nilu, Ranjit Dutta and others.
The main speaker Shamsul Alam said, we are in crisis with fuel and electricity. The government has no sustainable policy on energy sector and working on basis of emergency needs.
In 2010, government on the basis of the Emergency Expedited Delivery Act avoided the global standard of purchase and sale.
He said, nationally we have a capacity crisis. The government has decided to increase the price of electricity four times a year, as a result of which, electricity is available but cannot be spent.
He said on one hand the companies are demanding additional subsidy from the government by showing the increase in expenditure, as a result of which the expenditure in the electricity and gas sector is increasing by an additional 58 thousand crore taka.
In the power presentation at the seminar, it was mentioned that the electricity generation capacity in the country in 2023 is 24 thousand 911 MW. But only 15 thousand 648 MW has been produced. Consumers have to pay for the unused electricity.
Even after this, an additional 20,416 megawatts of electricity will be supplied by the new plants till 2027, costing of which will also have to be borne by the citizens.
So the participants in the meeting demanded consumer friendly, environment friendly energy policy along with the formulation of policies to speed up the production of renewable electricity in the power sector.