Finding a way out of unequal power deals, though they continue to bleed the economy, would not be so easy, speakers observed at the inaugural session of a three-day energy conference that began in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development along with 23 co-organisers arranged the conference at the BIAM Foundation auditorium at the city’s New Eskaton.

'Coming out of the power deals could be very expensive. These deals are unequal, offering barely any way out for Bangladesh,’ said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the interim government’s adviser for the ministry of environment, forest and climate change.

Rizwana said that the deals, exerting mounting pressure on the country’s economy, would have to be carried on for rather a long time.

‘People are put under a huge burden. Controlling the situation will take time,’ she added.

Energy expert Mohammad Tamim said that cancelling the deals would carry heavy financial and legal consequences, costing Bangladesh hefty sums as fines.

‘The phasing out of a single project might cost $10–$12 billion,’ said Tamim.

He also said that the projects would drag for decades under the deals, including the nuclear power generation project that would continue for 40 years.

Organisers said that the conference was expecting over 300 participants, including a dozen experts from abroad.

Power, energy and mineral resources adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that the primary goal of the now ousted Awami League regime in the power and energy sector seemed to be enabling corruption rather than achieving sustainable development.

The current interim government was focused on eliminating those practices that enabled corruption, he said.

‘We have restored the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission’s  power to fix energy tariffs. We are also revising the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan and reevaluating the renewable energy policy,’ said Fouzul.

Hasan Mehedi, member secretary of the working group, said that the conference would have strategic dialogues to pave the path towards reducing emissions by 2050.

News Link: Bangladesh struggles to find way out of unequal power deals: speakers