TIB urges govt to end rental power system

NEWS DESK

The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has pleaded with the government to cancel the rental power system immediately and reform the Power System Master Plan-2018.

It made the call citing data from power department and reliable international organisations and media reports that the power sector's overcapacity is mounting financial burden on its people.

A recent study reads that the overcapacity of Bangladesh's power sector will increase its financial loss following a significant fall in electricity demand in the corona pandemic.

The Institute for Energy Economics Financial Analysis in a report on Monday said Bangladesh has to keep 57 per cent of power plants idle due to overcapacity.

The country costs Tk 90-billion capacity payments to power plants to sit idle, necessitating the government subsidy and electricity price hike for consumers, it added.

If the emerging situation continues, the loss due to overcapacity will cost Tk 304 billion by the April-December period, the TIB said, citing the report.

Besides, power division under power, energy and mineral resources ministry decided to seek Tk 150 billion from the government to address the losses, said the watchdog, denouncing the move.

Despite the country has the capacity to generate 21,000 megawatt of renewable electricity, the government's commitment to generating 10-per cent renewable energy by 2020 is not satisfactory, said TIB executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman.

Without proper planning, coal and oil-fired power plants are being built one after another for business reasons despite less demand, he added.

In line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Bangladesh must move away from such self-contradictory positions and achieve the goal of 100-per cent renewable energy production by 2050.

It will be environmentally friendly and economically viable, Dr Zaman concluded.