PM directs BB to foot coal bills to keep Payra, Rampal running

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at an emergency meeting at Ganabhaban on Wednesday directed officials concerned of Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Finance Ministry to allocate dollars for making debt repayment and coal-fuel import-related payments for continuing the production of the country's power plants including Payra and Rampal.
The Prime Minister also directed the BB authority to look into the national banks inability to honour the L/Cs opened by the parties without any harassment and take measures to stop over invoicing by the parties.
The meeting held a prolonged discussion over the ongoing dollar crisis issue and unpaid bills of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the Prime Minister called the meeting at the Gababhaban Office, where the Energy Adviser Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, State Minister for Power Energy and Mineral Resources, BB governor, Finance Secretary, Power Division Secretary and Energy Division
Secretary were present.
The meeting said the unpaid bills of the private power plant operators have now crossed US$2.5 billion as the government has failed to pay since May 2022, according to the Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association (BIPPA). For the last five months the private players did not get any payment.
Normally, the BPDB purchases electricity worth Tk 4,000 crore per month.
Officials of the state-owned BPDB admitted about the non-payment of the bills against the electricity purchased from the private power plant operators.
BPDB is the single buyer on behalf of the government, sometimes partially clearing the payments, which are the highest 60 per cent of the payments against the bills.
Meanwhile, the  Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department of the Bangladesh Bank and the Finance Ministry to allocate dollars for making debt repayment and coal import-related payments for continuing the production in Payra and Rampal  power plants.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed the Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department of the Bangladesh Bank and the Finance Ministry to allocate dollars for making debt repayment and coal import-related payments for continuing the production in Payra and Rampal power plants.
"As per the directive the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation will receive US$114 million and Rampal power plant authority $11 million on Wednesday. The situation will be overcome shortly," a senior official of the Power Division told the Daily Observer on Tuesday.
"The price of coal in the international market has risen 3 to 4-fold high, Bangladesh now needs to spend nearly four and a half times for a tonne of coal compared with the price paid in January 2021. On January 16, a tonne of coal cost $370 in place of $84 in January 2021," a senior official of the Power Division said.
Bangladesh now owes $151 million to the Chinese corporation for the coal import for six months since January, according to the North-West Power Generation Company Ltd (Payra thermal power plant) Authority, it requires about 2.5 lakh to three lakh tonnes of coal per month. The monthly coal import payment is roughly $30 million.
However, the Rampal plant authority has also been compelled to suspend their operation as they could not place new coal import orders because of the dollar crisis. Their dues are $16 million.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister also directed the Power and Energy Division to stop pilferage and justify the capacity payment issue as soon as possible thus the total cost to run the private power plants will be brought down.