Country's power sector is set to face a serious challenge during holy Ramadan and upcoming Boro season as dollar and fuel crisis has jeopardized the sector with its cascading effects that are likely to slash the power production 3,000 to 4,000 MW.
The arrears of the power producers' and power exporters will also play a pivotal role in producing power in the coming days, experts said.
To manage the situation, the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Division is conducting meetings everyday with the Finance Ministry, BPDB, Petrobangla, Independent Power Producers, power exporters, LNG suppliers - both long-term and spot sellers - against purchases due to a brewing currency crisis that poses a risk of halting supplies, said sources.
"We are in a deep crisis as far as finance is concerned, our first priority should be to ensure the power and energy supply in the country as there is no way, we have to keep continuing the payments to manage the sector," energy expert and former caretaker adviser Dr M Tamim said.
The government owed approximately $2.4 billion to private independent power producers, $475 million for electricity imports from India, India's Adani Group, with six months of power bill around $800 million in arrears, $630 million in outstanding and current interests on a loan for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, $350 million to gas companies and $320 million to LNG suppliers.
"As we don't have enough primary fuel, we need to go for procuring it from abroad whether it is liquid fuel, LNG, coal, and if we fail to open LC for procuring fuel by mid-February, then it will be a disaster as it needs 30 to 45 days to offload the item, the interim government should take immediate decision in this regard," energy expert Dr. Ijaz Hossain told the daily Observer on Saturdays.
"We request BPDB to settle outstanding payments promptly and ensure future payments are timely to maintain LC issuance for suppliers. This will enable the continued operation of the power plant until the next coal shipment arrives," the Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association (BIPPA) President David Hasanat has said.
It has apprehended that country's peak electricity demand may reach as high as 18,232 MW, BPDB urged the Petrobangla to ensure 1,400 mmcf gas to run their power plants, it also planned to get 4,000-5,000 MW electricity from coal and another 4,000 MW from liquid fuel.
"Unfortunately, the Petrobangla has no way to ensure supply 1,400 mmcf gas per day to Power Sector, it could be roughly 1,100 to 1,200.So there would be huge gap and BPDB should run their fuel palnts or face load-shedding," a senior official of Petrobangla told.
BPDB's paper showed that in FY2018-19, around 70 per cent of the country's electricity was generated using gas, but this figure dropped to 52 per cent in FY2022-23. Of that gas, 30 per cent was imported, meaning local gas contributed only 35 per cent. Currently, 75 per cent of the fuel must be imported, driving up our expenses on fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, the BIPPA urged the government to clear overdue bills of the plant owners immediately to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during this winter and subsequent summer seasons.
The government should pay at least Tk 25-30 billion as soon as possible so the plant owners can import furnace oil and generate electricity to contribute to meet the demand in the holy month of Ramadan, said BIPPA President.
A possible electricity crisis might affect irrigation in the upcoming Boro season, causing lesser crop output and increase inflation, he warned.
Currently, the government owes around Tk 16,000 croe to different power plant owners - Tk 10, 000 crore payable to furnace oil-fired plants and Tk 6,000 crore to others.
"We urged the government to pay Tk 4,000 to 5,000 crore to manage our LCs with the banks, unfortunately they paid only Tk 5, 00 crore," BIPPA official said.
Admitting the situation, Power Division Secretary Farzana Momtaz told the Daily Observer that, "we are struggling due to different causes, dollar crisis, fuel shortage are basic issues but it is also true that we are taking the burden of the previous government; however, we are still in talks with the Independent power producers' and Finance Ministry, and whatever the amount we are getting we are trying to resolve the payment issue very seriously."
