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The Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association (BIPPA) has urged the government to conduct a proper investigation to identify the actual wrong-doers and shun wholesale allegations of plundering funds from the power sector.
"We don't want to hear wholesale allegations against all the power plant owners," BIPPA President David Hasanat told a press conference at a city hotel on Thursday, assuring the authorities concerned their cooperation to the investigation.
"Neither all the power plant owners are corrupt nor all of them are innocent," said the leader of the private power plant owners, stressing the need for the probe against the allegations for the sake of streamlining the critical sector.
The association called for the investigation days after formation of a six-member expert panel to renegotiate tariff rates with the power-plant owners, who have allegedly bagged projects with higher tariff rates under the cover of already-annulled special energy law.
The government has initiated the move to renegotiate tariffs with the power producers to reduce purchase costs and debt burdens of the country.
Moreover, the BIPPA urged the government to clear overdue bills of the plant owners immediately to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during this winter and subsequent summer seasons.
The government should pay at least Tk 25-30 billion as soon as possible so the plant owners can import furnace oil and generate electricity to contribute to meet the demand in the holy month of Ramadan, said former BIPPA President Imran Karim.
A possible electricity crisis might affect irrigation in the upcoming Boro season, causing lesser crop output, he warned. During the upcoming summer, he added, the country's peak electricity demand may reach as high as 18,232 MW. Currently, the government owes around Tk 160 billion to different power plant owners - Tk 100 billion payable to furnace oil-fired plants and Tk 60 billion to others.
The power plant owners have incurred a loss of around Tk 55 billion over the last couple of years only due to devaluation of local currency against US dollar, said Mr Karim, adding that investment would be around US$9.0 billion so far in the country.
Talking to newsmen, the BIPPA president also expressed his interest to surrender his power plants to the government if it agrees to return the investment with 16-17 per cent interest.
Sources said the government has initiated a move to renegotiate tariffs of around a hundred power plants that were awarded under the scrapped Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010 (Amended 2021).
The new six-member expert panel is expected to pinpoint the irregularities and the government would initiate renegotiation of tariffs based on the findings of the panel, said sources.