The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) criticized the FY2025 budget for not addressing energy sustainability, focusing instead on coal-based power and ambitious power demand targets. Bangladesh struggles to meet gas demand from local fields, resorting to expensive LNG imports, impacting factories when global prices rise. Despite substantial coal reserves, coal is still imported. The budget lacks adequate measures for energy transition and sustainability. Six major challenges were highlighted: rising generation capacity, continuous load-shedding, slow transmission and distribution progress, insufficient renewable energy focus, import limitations, and financial losses of public entities. A subsidy of Tk 40,000 crore is allocated to the power sector, mostly for capacity charges, while Tk 7,000 crore is earmarked for LNG imports. The budget should prioritize domestic gas exploration over LNG imports. A special allocation of Tk 100 crore is proposed for renewable energy development. Criticisms include the lack of measures for phasing out fossil fuels, retiring rental power plants, ending capacity payments, and incentivizing renewables.
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