Power, energy sector faces bleak future: CPD
Staff Reporter :
The Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) thinks that the initiatives taken to increase the price of electricity, gas and fuel oil to save energy have not been successful in solving the existing crisis in the power and energy sector.
“Load shedding is not going away soon. It will be continued for more months. Despite there is more than 10 hours of load shedding in the village, it is not being taken into consideration,” it said.
In a key-note paper, CPD Research Director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said this while speaking at dialogue on “Challenges in the Energy and Power Sector: Can the Proposed National Budget Address Those Challenges?” organized by the CPD at a hotel in the capital on Thursday.
“The power and energy sector has not taken any lesson from the ongoing crisis. It is still going through the wrong way. Reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports without emphasis on domestic gas exploration may weaken foreign exchange reserves further,” the CPD said.
“The present crisis in the power and energy sector will not be solved by following the suggestion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It may impose additional price on the consumer only in the name of subsidy adjustment. Many more reforms need to be done along with IMF advice,” it said.
“Due to the energy crisis, electricity cannot be produced as per demand for the last one year. Consumers are suffering from load shedding,” CPD said.
M Shamsul Alam, Senior Vice President of the Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said, “Adani’s power, cross-border transmission lines, LNG and coal have all turned into an import market for the power and energy sector.
The consumer is paying the extra price. A big budget is being made with that money. But there is nothing for the consumer in the budget.”
“There may be research on how much money has been laundered in the name of development in the sector by bringing in foreign investment,” he said.
Geologist Badrul Imam said, “The main source of energy in the country comes from gas. The current crisis would not have occurred if gas exploration had continued.
It has been neglected. In fact, such a gas crisis has been created deliberately to increase LNG import.”
Prof Ijaz Hossain said, “The allocation in the budget has been increased to the power sector. But, the problem is in the energy sector.”
“But, now the prices of coal, LNG and fuel oil are low in the world market and the government is leaning towards imports again. One power plant after another has been built without guaranteeing energy. These should be illegal under any law,” he added.
FBCCI Senior Vice President Mustafa Azad Chowdhury said, “Fuel supply has become dependent on imports. Availability of fuel should be the main objective. Due to the dollar crisis, LCs cannot be opened properly. Businessmen are also unable to open LC.”
CPD’s Research Director Khandaker Golam Moazzem said, “Rampal and Payra power plants have been closed down. Fuel cannot be imported. A huge amount of debt is being incurred to meet fuel costs.
Dependence on coal is increasing. This will increase import costs further. Power generation capacity is now 40 per cent more than the demand and more power plants are coming up. What to do with so much additional capacity?”
He thinks, “Power plant rent (capacity charge) is one of the biggest causes of losses for the Power Development Board (PDB). It has spent Tk 13,200 crores on the rent of power plant in the fiscal year 2020-21 and it increased by almost 82 per cent to Tk 24,000 crore in the next year (2021-22).”
