The rise in power production has also seen an increased expenditure in the sector during the last decade, as government subsidy in power rose by thirty times. Specialists say that if the subsidy was reduced then the money could have been invested in other sectors.
In the name of rising production cost, the retail price of power has also soared resulting in more pressure on the government.
In 2006, subsidy to power was Tk 3 billion and in the current year, it stands at Tk 90 billion.
During the last nine years, no coal-powered plant came on stream, though the Pyra plant is expected to generate power at the end of the current year. To increase production in the last nine years, there was more stress on using liquid fuel.
Currently, per unit cost of furnace oil run power is Tk 13.62 whereas for diesel it’s Tk. 27.21. Power produced from fuel run plants is around 6,738 megawatt, which is 37.22 percent of aggregate production.
Energy specialist Shamsul Alam said: “We have always wanted to track irrational expenditures in the power sector and have given a plan as to how production cost can be lowered.”
“The government is unwilling to reduce the price of gas and power,” he added.
Member of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, Mizanur Rahman, said: “Subsidy fell since the price of fuel came down but along with a sudden hike in fuel price, the subsidy has also risen.”
“We need to import Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) because converting plants to LNGs will slash cost; however, if we get our own gas then power production cost will also slide significantly,” he added.