In the summer season, Bangladesh may see more load shedding because fuel imports for electricity generation have decreased dramatically as a result of the dollar issue and delays in establishing letters of credit (LCs). For the private sector, the unpaid electricity bill, which now extends over six months, is worth Tk 277.5 billion. According to power producers, this has also caused a reduction of a third in the private sector’s electricity generation. From February on, the nation will need roughly 16,000 MW of electricity to cover summertime demand, especially for Boro irrigation.
Private power producers have the ability to produce 6,000 MW of electricity, but they only manage to produce 2,500 MW at the moment. They presently receive less than $100 million for fuel imports, despite the fact that they will need to import 5 million tonnes of HFO to create electricity at a cost of $2.2 billion yearly. The unpaid electricity bills, which include almost six months’ worth of payments and number over Tk 277.50 billion, are another source of the difficulty. Due to their inability to make timely installment payments, many minor power producers, like Emergypac, have been forced into bankruptcy.
According to a statement from the Bangladesh Power Development Board, the government may also see a sharp increase in electricity subsidies totaling Tk 275.92 billion in the fiscal year 2022–23 until October 2023 due to expensive power generation as a result of fuel price hikes on the international market (BPDB). Bangladesh’s current energy generation capacity is 21,484 MW, according to the BPDB. HFO-based power projects make up 5884 MW.
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