The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports on Saturday demanded immediate cuts in energy prices and holding ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her aides accountable for 鈥榚nergy offences鈥�. 聽
They discussed some of the ways that the interim government could apply in refusing to take the burden of loans that lenders extended to an 鈥榠llegal government鈥� of Bangladesh, accused of making unjustified project expenses.
They also demanded that power plants such as the coal-based Rampal power plant and Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant be immediately closed to reduce expenses and save Bangladesh from environmental disasters.
Appropriate steps could reduce power and energy sector expenses by Tk 40,000 crore in a week,聽 experts at the national committee said, citing some ways of reducing the cost overnight.
鈥榃e have designed everything to reduce the cost, almost overnight,鈥� said M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, who has been involved with the national committee programmes since the committee commenced its journey.
One of the biggest coal-fired power plants is currently buying coal at $99 per tonne, he said, adding that streamlining coal prices in all coal power plants could save Tk 6,000 crore.
He pointed out the huge difference in coal prices.
The price of per tonne of coal extracted at the Barapukuriya coal mine is $185, he said, questioning the justification of such a high price.
He said that the plan the power and energy sector prepared for reducing Tk 10,000 crore was misleading and not implementable.聽
鈥楶eople working in the power sector are loyal to a syndicate out of either greed or fear. The real change in the sector needs to be made with people from outside,鈥� said Shamsul Alam.
Many of the power plants based on furnace oil are not generating power but receiving large sums of capacity charges, he said, asking for their immediate closure to reduce predatory expenses.
There are gas-based power plants getting paid on actual dollar exchange rates though they were established years ago when the rate was far lower. Bringing an end to the payment method could save Tk 2,500 crore overnight.
Speakers also advised that the government should refuse to pay off the loan using its reserve earned through readymade garment export, making the point that the loan can be repaid only when Bangladesh got back its stolen money and evaluated if all loans given had reasonable terms and conditions.
There are international laws enforcing responsible lending, they said, advising that the government could seek help from the Interpol and UN in this regard.
Economist Anu Muhammad emphasised on retaining complete ownership of national resources and increasing national capacity while managing the power and energy sector.
He warned that the effort to allow energy exploration work under production sharing contracts designed by the past Hasina government would not be accepted.
The appointment of former US ambassador Peter D Haas as a consultant of Excellerate Energy proves that diplomats like him actually worked as lobbyists of multinational companies, he said.
鈥楾he PSC must be scraped and power plants such as Rampal and Ruppur have to be closed down,鈥� said Anu Muhammad.
The national committee, formed in 1998 against the then government鈥檚 effort to export gas to India, showed signs of becoming active after a rather long hiatus.
The committee announced that its members would hold meetings across Bangladesh on November 6 with three demands - immediate cut in energy prices, the trial of energy offenders and the promotion of renewable energy.
Economist MM Akash said that the Hasina government did not keep any of its promises.
He called for a change in the system to ensure that leaders who keep promise emerge.
鈥楳aking any such systemic change is time-consuming. It leads to the obvious question whether we should allow the interim government such a long time.鈥� said Akash.
鈥極r we can get the interim government initiate the process of systemic change,鈥� he said.聽