The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) has put forward a 13-point set of demands, including the cancellation of a 1,600-megawatt power import agreement with Indian conglomerate Adani.
The demands were raised at a stakeholder dialogue titled “Experience Sharing on Energy Sector Reform and Renewable Energy Transition in Bangladesh”, held at a city hotel on Thursday.
Among its other proposals, the CAB called for a halt to any increase in coal-fired power generation capacity and urged the government to limit imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the next five years.
At the same time, the association recommended that solar power generation capacity be increased by an average of 15 per cent annually over the next five years, with priority given to the development of the renewable energy sector.
The CAB also demanded that the government ensure full offshore gas exploration and production by local companies, including Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX), using funds from the Gas Development Fund.
Speakers at the dialogue included CAB energy adviser Professor M Shamsul Alam, Professor Dr Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan of Dhaka University, constitutional expert Arif Khan, CAB Research Coordinator engineer Shuvo Kibria, CAB Vice President SM Nazir Hossain and Project Coordinator Marufa Akter.
Addressing the event, Professor Alam criticised the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, accusing it of violating its own regulations and calling for structural reform of the body.
“Neither the Bangladesh Power Development Board nor Petrobangla has properly understood the power and energy pricing formula,” he alleged.
He also questioned the tendering process and pricing of solar power projects, citing a 3.5MW solar-based power project tender invited by his university, Daffodil International University, which reportedly received the lowest bid at Tk 7.30 per kilowatt-hour.
Professor Dr Tanzimuddin Khan said Bangladesh currently depends on imports for about 15 per cent of its total electricity supply, describing the situation as “dangerous for the nation”.
He further claimed that the country’s regulatory framework remains overly investor-friendly.
Bangladesh has been paying an additional 4–5 US cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity supplied by India’s Adani Power, costing the country an estimated $400 million–$500 million a year under what a government-appointed review committee has described as an “unfair” power purchase agreement (PPA).
According to the committee, the excess payments could amount to nearly $10bn over the 25-year term of the contract for the 1,600-megawatt coal-fired plant built by Adani in Godda, in India’s Jharkhand state.