Power Grid Bangladesh PLC has sent a clarification regarding a FE report headlined 'Hidden liabilities threaten to cripple Power Grid, outweigh assets' published on Page 9 on December 24.
In its rejoinder issued on Wednesday, the company has differed with the report, terming some interpretations and selective observations 'exaggerated'.
It said the report contained factually incorrect assertions along with presenting several issues without appropriate technical context.
The company duly furnished appropriate explanations and outlined the necessary corrective actions for each of the auditor's qualified opinions, as detailed in the Annual Report for FY25, said the clarification.
Referring to a disputed amount of Tk 1.71 billion, the Power Grid said it remains 'fully optimistic' about recovering the funds from other state-run companies, including Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), in the near future. To resolve the matter, a Joint Coordination Committee comprising representatives from the BPDB and Power Grid is currently reviewing the unsettled receivables and payables.
Power Grid also said they have been charging depreciation since its inception. It also explained its position on a loan of Tk 3.59 billion taken from the DPDC, which was termed as mysterious in the FE report.
About the absence of NOC and subsequent mutations in claiming lands by the Power Grid, it said since the execution of agreements, the company has been in continuous possession and use of the said lands.
FE's reply: The FE published the report on disclosed information included in the financial statements of the company for FY25. The main numerical source of the report was the qualified opinion mentioned in these statements. Before publishing the report, the FE correspondent made several attempts to contact the company's Managing Director, Abdur Rashid Khan. A message was also sent to him via WhatsApp, seeking his comment on various financial discrepancies highlighted in the auditor's qualified opinion. However, he could not be reached.
An auditor issues a qualified opinion for various reasons, including the lack of evidence supporting some of the company's claims. The FE correspondent also consulted other auditors to interpret certain issues raised in the qualified opinion issued to Power Grid.
