Govt Extends Tax Holiday for Renewable Energy Firms

A white paper submitted to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus accuses Sheikh Hasina’s administration of pervasive corruption in Bangladesh’s power sector, alleging $3 billion in kickbacks on $30 billion invested since 2010.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) spent Tk 79,390 crore in FY 2023-24 on electricity procurement from IPPs, rental companies, and India. Notably, Adani Power sold 816 crore kWh for Tk 12,147 crore, while Payra coal plant and Summit Group followed with Tk 8,932 crore and Tk 5,641 crore, respectively.

The share price of Energypac Power Generation PLC (EPGL), a publicly traded company in the power and energy sector, dropped by 10.49% last week, closing at Tk 12.80, compared to Tk 14.30 the previous fiscal year. According to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the company decided not to declare any dividends for the 2023-24 fiscal year, during which its earnings per share (EPS) recorded a loss of Tk 5.18, a stark decline from a profit of Tk 0.75 in the previous year.

Gias Uddin Zoarder, a newly appointed member of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, has resigned following media reports of alleged corruption. Official sources confirmed that Zoarder, formerly a senior official at Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) PLC, submitted his resignation to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division secretary on November 29, citing personal reasons.