Home ›› 24 Mar 2023 ›› Front
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has called for the cancellation of the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act 2010, saying the government has set up unplanned power plants through wrongful contracts and this has caused high power costs and created fiscal pressure.
Meanwhile, the power purchase agreement with India’s Adani Group will be a huge burden for Bangladesh in the long run due to higher prices.
CPD Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem made the observations at an event, titled “Rethinking Renewable Energy Policy (Draft),” held at Dhanmondi in Dhaka on Thursday.
He commented that there is no alternative to renewable energy to ensure cheap electricity for all and save the planet alongside reducing the government subsidy pressure on the power and energy sector.
The economist said the Quick Enhancement of Power Energy Supply Act is majorly responsible for the recent instability in the country’s power sector and the repeated increase in energy and power prices.
Moazzem said the International Monetary Fund has urged reforms in the power sector due to the government’s wrong policies. But this burden is falling on the shoulders of the general people.
He believes the power sector will be safe in the future if this law is annulled and the renewable energy (RE) sector is given an opportunity to expand in a competitive environment.
In this regard, although the government has adopted various policies for the expansion of renewable energy, CPD said every policy is flawed and conflicting with each other including the draft RE Policy of 2012, Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, National Determined Contributions and Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan.
At the same time, CPD said, the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority also has many weaknesses and needs to be strengthened to take action independently.
However, CPD also welcomed some aspects of the latest Renewable Energy Policy Draft 2022. The policy was originally formulated in 2008.
Moazzem in his presentation said the new draft has brought several changes in RE implementation and expansion with more detailed and rich new proposals. However, at the same time, there are contradictions in some parts of the original and draft policies.
Moazzem said, in the new policy, the master plan for wind power, biomass energy, waste to electricity, hydro energy, geothermal technology, wave energy and green hydrogen, etc. has been adopted.
The new policy has set a target of 2,500 MW of electricity generation from renewables by 2025, which is 10 per cent of the total generation; 6500 MW in 2026-2041, which is 20 per cent; and 20,000 MW in 2031-2041, which is 40 per cent of the total.
However, using the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan, the authorities are trying to establish fossil fuels like coal as clean energy with carbon capture technology and it’s unacceptable, criticised CPD.
CPD said the government’s focus is on fossil fuel investment. For that, in 2010, the government made the Quick Enhancement Power Energy Supply Special Act with indemnity. All the plant construction contracts awarded under this act are non-transparent and against the public interest.
That is why these contracts are not made public and this is a violation of constitutional rights, said the think-tank.
Referring to the recent Adani Group controversy, Moazzem said that this power purchase agreement was not necessary for Bangladesh and it will be a massive burden for the country to carry in the future.
Instead, the government could have invested in renewable energy. If you invest once in this sector, then no further investment is required. It will reduce subsidy pressure on the power sector for the long run, he said.
Fossil fuels should be gradually phased out and replaced by RE sources, the CPD research director added. “For this, detailed research and feasibility study on renewable energy should be made accessible.”
Domestic and foreign investors are interested in investing in RE, he said and also called for offering various incentives to investors to facilitate the sector’s expansion.
CPD in its presentation showed a comparative picture of Bangladesh with India and Vietnam in renewable energy development. It shows that India is generating 119 GW of power from renewable sources since 2022.
India has taken various initiatives to generate renewable electricity from various sources. The country’s irrigation sector is now heavily geared towards renewable energy. The same is the case with Vietnam. But Bangladesh is far behind in this regard, CPD said.
