So, this practice has been going on for the last 14 years and more power plants were added and import contracts for fossil fuels handed to the private sector. The constant revision of upward energy prices became commonplace. The economy had been held hostage to this Act and the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) also got its wings clipped a few years ago. After the BERC was turned into a toothless tiger, utility companies and the ministry of energy and power had a free run to do whatever they pleased.
As Bangladesh was turned into an importers' paradise for all sorts of imported liquid fuels, national plans for exploration of natural gas onshore, and hydrocarbon exploration offshore were literally mothballed. Year after year, prices of both energy supplies and power supplied to bulk and retail consumers (industry, commercial and non-commercial users) kept going up. All this is public knowledge.
Hence it came as no surprise that parliament passed a bill in parliament in 2017 to extend the quick rental power plant Act. The Act was great for providers of power and energy. The beauty of "capacity payment" that allowed for suppliers to reap massive benefits was to continue. Was it simply suppliers who got fat off this arrangement? That is a matter of investigation by the authorities. What is clear beyond the shadow of a doubt is that millions (perhaps billions) of dollars have been squandered from the national exchequer (and foreign loans taken) in building an energy plan that was never going to be sustainable. Some companies got very rich in the process.
Lots of lovely mansions were bought in the country and beyond. Fantastic sums of money were spent on destination weddings (and local weddings) where foreign celebrities were flown in to give stellar performances. Fabulously expensive cars were bought and driven around on the streets. The elite of the elite moved around in convoys of vehicles and police protocol mandated that thousands of ordinary citizens stayed stuck at traffic signals while these "VIPs" whizzed around in their fancy cars. The wine flowed like fountains, parties raged on till early hours of the morning, and life was great for the select few. Rest of the population paid the price for this luxury through their noses. The height of pomp knew no bounds and a new rich class had emerged, unashamed in flaunting their ill-gotten wealth. The world was their oyster and a lot of it was paid for by the energy Act that minted millions for some and was the bane for the rest of the population.
It must be troubling for these people to know that the party has crashed. While many are upset at the sudden turn of events, energy experts who have been crying hoarse for over a decade to bring back sanity to energy planning may finally get their voices heard in the corridors of power. One can only hope that the incoming government will repeal this dark Act that had nearly ruined the economy. This country belongs to all the people: the students who braved the odds and faced bullets, the poor farmers who toil the land to provide the nation with its food basket, the white collar professionals who pay his/her taxes. It cannot be the haven for that small bunch of rich and depraved people who have bled this country dry in the name of ensuring "electricity for all".
Zero accountability and non-existent transparency had become the norm. Anyone who went against it was termed "unpatriotic" or was simply ignored. Some writers have been called pompous and rude. Others have been ridiculed and subjected to expletives. Why? Is it because they dared to challenge the official mantra? The question is, will the new government investigate these wrongs, or will it be business as usual? Will the new authorities break with the past that allowed for this "no questions asked" arrangement to continue, or will they rein in the unbridled corruption in the energy sector? That is a question the new government can answer.
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