"That decision was political rather than economic," he said, pointing out that production costs remain stubbornly high.During the previous government's 16-year tenure, repeated hikes in power and energy prices failed to curb losses. "It was more or less following in the footsteps of the past Awami League government," said Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development. The law allowed contracts to be awarded without tender and shielded those involved from accountability.Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina oversaw the process as power, energy and mineral resources minister. Many economists blame today's economic crisis and foreign exchange depletion on these "predatory" power sector expenses.Since January 2024 alone, fossil fuel-based plants totalling more than 2,500MW have come online, further inflating capacity charge payments. Over its tenure, the Awami League paid about Tk 1 trillion in capacity charges.Capacity charges vary by fuel type: Tk 3 per megawatt for gas-based plants, Tk 3.30 for coal-fired plants, and Tk 2.5 for oil-based facilities.

Source: bd News24 December 21, 2025 19:36 UTC