Power, energy crisis: Some relief in 2027, more in 2028, crisis-free by 2030

The ruling party members of parliament (MPs) have blamed past misguided policies, corruption and mismanagement for the power and energy crisis. Outlining the government’s plans to overcome the crisis in Parliament on Monday, they said the government’s goal is to provide some relief in 2027, more relief in 2028 and take it to a state free of energy crisis by 2030.

The opposition also agreed to this statement saying that the current crisis is a continuation of problems from the past. However, they also identified incumbent government's corruption, indecision and a lack of accountability as contributing factors that intensified the already existing problems.

The opposition put forward several proposals to resolve the crisis. At the same time, it called for a ‘cell’ or ‘task force’ comprising representatives of the government and opposition to address the problem. However, the government did not provide any specific information on forming such a cell.

The discussion on the power and energy crisis took place in Parliament on Monday. The notice for a brief discussion was submitted by Opposition Leader and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman on ‘taking effective measures to prevent disruptions to power generation, unemployment from factory closures, and severe disruption to the national economy caused by the acute energy and gas crisis’.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, State Minister for Power and Energy Aninda Islam and State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki took part in the discussion on behalf of the government. Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman and MP Nazibur Rahman participated on behalf of the opposition.

Taking part in the discussion, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said, “This suffering was not created by us. This suffering was created globally; this suffering was created by the previous system. The past 17 years of mismanagement have left this suffering behind. They left all these problems for the nation, building power plants without making any arrangements for energy. They did not know where the gas would come from, yet the pipelines were built.”

On the issue of capacity charge for power plants, the home minister said, “This was left behind by fascist Sheikh Hasina; we inherited it. But now, given the need for electricity, the honourable prime minister has probably approved three rental power companies. On what basis? No capacity charge. No power, no money! This is what our patriotism is.”

Referring to the power agreement with Adani, Salahuddin Ahmed said no agreement with any country can be cancelled overnight. Arrangements had been made to import electricity from across the border at a high price. If that is stopped now, he said, they would take the matter to international arbitration and electricity supplies would be cut off.

Highlighting various government initiatives to resolve the energy and power crisis, the home minister said to the opposition, “You have to wait patiently and watch how the country is run. And, I hope that patience will bear fruit for my friends.”

Criticising the policies of the Awami League government, the home minister said that when gas-fired power plants were being built, there was reliance on a single source—the Gulf. Here, FSRUs (LNG terminals) were handed out simply to nurture the tycoons. Arrangements were made to import gas through them. They devised this plan to nurture the tycoons and because of their dependence on foreign sources.”

The home minister further said no gas exploration had been carried out in the deep sea or shallow sea during the previous government’s tenure. Now, on the prime minister’s instructions, exploration is under way in all areas.

Taking part in the discussion, State Minister for Power Aninda Islam said the current crisis had been caused by misguided policies, corruption and mismanagement in the past. Since taking office, the government has been taking practical steps to deal with the situation.

Outlining short-, medium- and long-term plans to tackle the energy and power crisis, the state minister said, “Our plan is that by this time next year, we should be able to feel some relief compared with the current situation. By 2028, we should be able to feel even more relief, and by 2030, we want to reach a point where we no longer face any crisis. For that we have adopted short-, medium- and long-term plans. The name of the plan is ‘We have a plan’.”

The state minister said that although there is additional coal at Barapukuria, it is not currently economical to use it at other power plants because of the high cost of transporting it to other parts of the country.

However, he said there are plans to develop the necessary railway infrastructure to transport the coal to other parts of the country if coal production can be increased in the northern region in an environment friendly manner in the future.

The state minister said a bidding round for gas exploration in the deep sea was launched on 24 May. Foreign oil and gas companies are being contacted directly to encourage them to participate. An initiative has been taken to drill 150 gas wells, of which drilling is under way at 30. The target is to add 2,320 million cubic feet of gas from these wells to the national grid by 2031.

The state minister said efforts had been made to sign contracts for at least two new FSRUs (LNG terminals) this year and to install another FSRU in the south-western region to address the gas shortage. The target is to supply 2,800 million cubic feet of gas from FSRUs to the national grid by 2030. The process of setting up an LNG terminal at Matarbari is also under way.

The state minister said a target had been set to generate up to 4,000 megawatts from furnace-oil-fired power plants to address the electricity crisis. There are hopes of quickly bringing one of the 660-megawatt units at the closed Rampal power plant back into operation. Renewable energy is also being prioritiesed, he said.

State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki criticised the previous government, saying its energy policy had been formulated to benefit a handful of favoured individuals. As a result, he said, no arrangements were made for gas exploration and extraction in the country; instead, electricity management was based on import and energy policies that created dependence on imports.

Special individuals were given benefits in the import of LNG. The current government has taken initiatives to explore for gas while safeguarding the national interest, he added.

Taking part in the discussion and highlighting the nature of the crisis, Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman offered assistance from the opposition to help find a solution. He said, “The government has already taken many measures. From our perspective, not all of them have been in the national interest. Some have even been against the national interest.”

The opposition leader said that if the government sought cooperation, they could bring their team of technical experts in to work with the government. “We do not want credit; we want a solution to the problem,” he said.

Calling for the formation of an effective ‘cell’, the opposition leader said, “This will not be for the short term. If we can create that opportunity and move forward together as the ruling and opposition parties, I believe people’s confidence in the country will return.”

Opposition leader Shafiqur Rahman said, “The government has given many assurances. We remain hopeful and want to see them implemented. But we become disappointed when we do not see the assurances given in this parliament being implemented. It was said that meter charges and demand charges would not be imposed. But they are being imposed. This parliament was informed that the murderer Benazir had been arrested. But somehow he slipped out of their grip. If we were capable, how did he manage to get away?”

He further said, “It has been said here that the previous government created many opportunities to nurture its favourites. We do not want to fall into the hands of new favourites. The nation will never find relief unless we break free from this vicious cycle.”

The opposition leader said that simply blaming the past would not be enough; solutions must be found. Otherwise, new vicious cycles of this kind would emerge. Questions were already being raised about how government funds were being spent in various places. He said isses concerning family-run institutions, where conflicts arise with government interests, are becoming involved.

Addressing the ruling party, Shafiqur Rahman said, “Let us decide in this parliament that from now on, we will not act for ourselves, our brothers or nephews; whatever we do, we will do for the nation.”

Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Md Nazibur Rahman said the country’s ongoing electricity and fuel crisis was not a matter of capacity, but rather the result of corruption, mismanagement, poor planning, indecision and a lack of accountability. He said, “People do not need charity; they pay their bills and pay taxes. There should be light in their homes and fire on their stoves with the money they pay in bills.”

To address the crisis, Nazibur Rahman proposed increasing domestic gas production, keeping coal-fired power plants operational, maintaining at least three months’ fuel reserves and ensuring full utilisation of existing infrastructure.

He also proposed forming an effective ‘energy emergency cell’ under the highest level of government oversight to tackle the fuel crisis. NaziburRahman called for Petrobangla, BPDB, PGCB, REB and BPC to be brought under an integrated decision-making framework.

Outlining short-, medium- and long-term plans to address the gas crisis, the lawmaker proposed keeping the two FSRUs ready to operate at full capacity, making emergency LNG purchases, completing workovers at domestic gas fields quickly and taking initiatives to bring gas from Bhola, Jamalpur and Noakhali into the national grid. He also stressed the need to increase Petrobangla’s capacity and the manpower needed to operate rigs.

Nazibur Rahman criticised the payment of capacity charges to power plants and fictitious electricity bills. He called on the government to clarify its position on taking the matter of capacity charges to international arbitration after seeking the opinions of international legal experts. He also called for transparent investigations into allegations of irregularities in LNG and FSRU purchases and demanded disclosure of ownership and conflicts of interest.

In the long term, the lawmaker called for effective plans to achieve the target of increasing the share of renewable energy to 20 per cent by 2030 and 30 per cent by 2040.