It seems that the main goal of the previous government was to create opportunities for corruption in the electricity and fuel sector instead of walking on the path of sustainable development. The interim government is moving towards achieving sustainable electricity policies and procedures by stopping those methods that provide opportunities for corruption, said Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan, Adviser on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
He said this while speaking as the chief guest at the Bangladesh Energy Prosperity-2050 Conference at the BIAM Foundation in Dhaka on Wednesday (December 11). The three-day conference that he inaugurated will continue till Friday.
He said, we have restructured the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to fix electricity tariffs. At the same time, we are working on revising the Integrated Power and Fuel Master Plan and reviewing the renewable energy policy. Along with this, we are also moving away from Independent Power Plants (IPPs) and are walking on the path of implementing more sustainable electricity policies.
The inaugural session was chaired by Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser to the Interim Government on Environment, Forests and Climate Change. She said that Bangladesh is facing serious obstacles in achieving energy prosperity due to the pressure of many power contracts and the ongoing crisis. In addition to the increasing gap in quality, affordability and transparency, equal access to energy remains a key issue.
To meet the 40 renewable energy targets by 2041, clear policies are needed, strong participation of the private sector and transformation in all areas from energy production to conservation ensuring reliable power for industrial enterprises.
She said that while it is easy to talk about canceling contracts in the power sector, it is very expensive to get out of it. Canceling contracts is not that easy. We had to go to the international level to cancel the NICO contract. Still, the Interim Government has taken up the challenge. Now the contracts are under review, she said.
In the inaugural session Professor Dr. M. Tamim of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Rahim Afroz Renewable Energy Limited (RREL) Managing Director Munawar Misbah Moin, Deepal Chandra Barua, Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Sainan Houghton, Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury, Lidy Nakpil, Abul Kalam Azad expressed solidarity.