The power division is getting Tk9,284 crore in the upcoming budget, which is Tk224 crore or 2.4% higher than the allocation for the outgoing fiscal year, officials have said.
They said an expenditure of Tk7,200 crore will be provisioned for subsidy in the power sector,which is higher than the subsidy of about Tk5,500 crore in the outgoing fiscal year’s budget.
Industry insiders said although the government had hiked the power tariff during the current financial year, its mounting dependency on expensive oil-fired power plants might be the reason behind higher allocationfor subsidy.
In FY 2009-10, the allocation for the sector was Tk2,102.2 crore and it was Tk5,981.88 crore in FY 2010-11. In FY2011-12, the allocation increased to Tk7,185.8 crore, which then went up to Tk7,889 crore in the next fiscal.
Sources said in the primarily-fixed budget of FY2014-15, Tk3,294 crore will be kept for the Power Development Board; the Rural Electrification Board will get Tk98.90 crore; the West Zone Power Distribution CompanyTk204 crore; the Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh Tk810 crore; Desco and DPDC will get Tk50 crore and Tk147 crore, respectively.
Additionally, the government is allocating Tk521 crore for the development of power transmission under the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh.
The Dhaka Tribune has also learnt about allocations of Tk250 crore for the Coal Power Generation Company of Bangladesh; Tk104 crore for the North West Power Generation Company and Tk885 crore for the Ashuganj Power Station Company.
Buet professor and energy expert Ijaz Hossain stressed the installation of low-cost coal-based power plants in order to reduce the electricity tariff.
“It is unfortunate that we are paying a lot of money but have not yet gotten rid of load-shedding,” he said.
Summit Group Chairman Muhammad Aziz Khan told the Dhaka Tribune: “I think that the power sector is the most important infrastructure of a country. The government should not roll out only five-year projects or plans... The government’s ambition should span over 10-15 years. The present government has come up with the 2021 outlook for the sector. I think that should continue.”
