Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has incurred losses of nearly Tk 15 billion in the last quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal year 2015-16, worsening the government's subsidy burden on the private power sector, sources said.
BPDP incurred losses due to a huge gap between bulk power tariff and power generation cost caused mainly by costly power purchase from independent power plants, rental and quick rental plants, they added.
It has been providing electricity bills to independent and rental power plants and supplying fuel oil to its own power plants, hampering the electricity generation activity, a high official of the board said.Â
The state-run entity has requested the power division to provide Tk 14.90 billion as subsidy for independent power plants, rental and quick rental power plants and import electricity from India.Â
The power division sent a letter to the finance ministry to take necessary steps in this regard.
Presently, the government purchases electricity at higher prices from independent power plants, rental and quick rental power plants and import electricity from India that has been selling at lower prices to bulk consumers, the official said.
As a result, BPDB incurs a significant financial loss every month. The government provides the board with financial assistance against the loss, he mentioned.
The board received Tk 12.37 billion as subsidy during the period between July and October of the current FY.Â
Providing some Tk 15.57 billion as subsidy to the country's private plants during the period between November and March of the current FY is in the process.Â
However, the amount of losses has stood at Tk 4.76 billion and over Tk 5.06 billion in April and May respectively of the current FY. The mount of loss might stand at Tk 5.06 billion in June, 2016.Â
BPDB is heavily burdened with outstanding debts of Tk 254.21 billion due to costly electricity generation for eight years till 2014, the power division data showed.Â
The board received Tk 238.43 billion in loans from the finance division to meet the deficit between 2006-07 and 2013-14 fiscal years, according to the data.Â
The target of fuel import for each power plant is fixed every year based on the production capacity, production cost of each unit of electricity and other plant factors, a senior official of the power cell has said.
The state-run entity has been purchasing power from private plants as a single buyer in the country. The board has to pay the bills to the plants to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply for the national grid, a senior official of the division also said.
The government has so far installed 43 oil-fired power plants. Most of them run on furnace oil and diesel, said an engineer working at BPDB.
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