Photo: Messenger
Despite having 100 per cent surplus generation installed capacity, the power sector is to get the second largest allocation in the next budget. According to the Power Division, Bangladesh currently has 31,000MW of capacity against the highest demand of 16,500MW on average.
The master plan data shows within 2030, 19,000MW more will be installed in different locations of the country based on expensive imported coal and LNG.
The people concerned said that due to immature master plan, the government installed modern power transmission system. As a result, huge amount of power cannot be supplied to the national grid. Thus, the people of the country experienced six to eight hours of load-shedding during prolonged high heatwaves in April.
And currently, the industry is crying for electricity. Even, during long heatwaves, workers did not go to non-chilled factories that forced to cut production by 30 per cent.
Businesses think increasing generation, the government should concentrate on transmission facility. ADP should be spent on the extraction of local energy so that the huge generation can be utilised in households and industries.
In this regard, energy expert Professor Shamsul Alam told The Daily Messenger that it is not only necessary to increase the allocation, but it is necessary to ensure that the money is spent properly. “Expenditure in electricity sector is more than actual expenditure. What we call predatory spending is high. Social protest has been created over this. Therefore, special attention should be paid in this regard.”
Meanwhile, the second highest allocation in the new ADP for fiscal year 2024-25 has been kept in the power and energy sector. About Tk 41,000 crore or more than 15 per cent of the total allocation has been earmarked for this sector.
Among these, Rooppur nuclear power plant construction project is getting the second highest allocation. Tk 10,502 crore has been allocated for this project. Tk 1,13,092.91 crore is being spent on the implementation of the project. Of this, Tk 71,089.40 crore has been spent so far.
Along with this, Matarbari coal-based power plant is getting the third highest allocation. Tk 6,005 crore has been allocated for this project. Besides, Tk 3,555 crore has been allocated for Power Grid Network Strengthening Project and Tk 3,384 crore for the project titled “Power System Network Under DPDC Area”.
Professor M Tamim told The Daily Messenger, “Last year, the cost of production per unit of electricity was around Tk 11.50, which was unusually high. The previous year, the same cost was between Tk 5.50 and Tk 6. In the first three months of this year, it has come down below Tk 9. Now we are selling each unit of electricity to consumers at an average of Tk 8. In this case, the goal of the government should be to reduce the cost of production.”
He also said, “Capacity payment agreements should be converted into energy costing. That is, all must be converted to ‘no electricity, no payment’. Some have been converted but still our capacity payment is very high. A large part of the allocation in this sector is going to capacity payments in the name of subsidy.”
Messenger/Disha
