Anisul Islam Noor :
An outstanding electricity bill worth Tk 7,000 crore to different power distribution companies and state-owned organisations have been laying unrealized by the Power Development Board (PDB) for long, sources said.
According to them, the now defunct Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (DESA) could not pay Tk 2,600 crore as electricity bills when it was closed in 2008. At that time, all the assets and liabilities of the DESA were transferred to the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC).
Though the DPDC had inherited all the assets and liabilities of DESA, it could not pay the said amount even in nine years. Meanwhile, it also accumulated around Tk 1,300 crore to PDB in addition to DESA’s default of Tk 2,600 crore.
However, the DPDC has been paying its bills regularly since journey this year.
Similarly, the PDB’s arrears to the Rural Electrification Board (REB) stood at around Tk 1,500 crore while to different state-owned organisations also Tk 1,500 crore..
With a view to realising the outstanding electricity bills, the PDB has sent a letter recently to the Power Division under the Ministry of Power asking for its intervention to realise the arrears for about Tk 7,000 crore to different distribution companies and the government organisations like some ministries, corporate bodies and the city corporations.
According to a data, large portions of electricity purchased from different power generation companies were provided to Dhaka city alone. But the electricity that was sold was not paid regularly to the PDB. As a result, up to June 2008, the PDB alone owes Tk 2,600 crore to now defunct DESA.
It is to be noted that, following the donors pressure, the government had form Dhaka Electricity Supply Company Limited (DESCO) as company in the place of DESA.
Meanwhile, the PDB has sent letters to the DPDC on
several times. But the thing was not settled. This time, the PDB has sought the ministry’s intervention to resolve the issue.
Sources said, there has been disagreement between the PDB and the DPDC regarding the purchase of electricity. In the last nine years, the DPDC got about Tk 1,300 crore in arrears.
REB has been purchasing power from PDB, but irregular to pay the bill. As a result, PDB has owed around Tk 1,500 crore to REB.
When contacted, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told The New Nation on Monday that his ministry is trying to realize the unrealized electricity bill from different power distribution companies and government organizations. He said power generation at present is very expensive, so there no scope that any one will consume electricity without paying for it.
“We will be able to invest the huge amount of money to build more power plants in different regions of the country if the outstanding electricity bills are realized. The government plans to build more power plants to generate 3000MW electricity as early as possible,” said the state minister.
Meanwhile, PDB Chairman Khaled Mahmud told reporters that the PDB is purchasing power at high prices. It has taken loan for about Tk 40,000 crore from the government to fulfill the huge gap between the purchase and the sale. But the PDB has a lot of dues to various state-owned companies.
He hoped that there will be a way out soon to resolve the issue with the intervention of the ministry. In this case, the DPDC will share the same amount of money with the PDB, he added.
Khaled Mahmud said efforts are being made to resolve the DPDC’s troubles. That’s why the officials of both the organizations have been meeting more than once. Hopefully, it can be resolved soon, he said.
The REB’s electricity bill collection process is underway. Besides, some rural power companies are in losses. So the company is taking time to pay the dues. It is also trying to resolve quickly, the PDB chairman said.
In 2015, the PDB’s unrealized electricity bill stood at Tk 722.17 crore to various state-owned companies. In December, 2016, it increased to Tk 1,565 crore. By the end of July this year, it can reach around Tk 2,000 crore.
Due to non-payment of the outstanding bills of various city corporations, this amount has been raised to around Tk 1,000 crore.
Besides, PDB arrears to different mosques, temples and religious shrines under the Ministry of Religions Affairs is around Tk 125 crore, while Tk 100 crore to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, Tk 77 crore to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Tk 57 crore to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Tk 52 crore to the Home Ministry, Tk 50 crore to Textile and Jute Ministry, Tk 42 crore to Rural Development and Cooperatives, Tk 41 crore to the Ministry of Education, Tk 21 crore to the Ministry of Agriculture, Tk 20 crore to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and Tk 16 crore to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
An outstanding electricity bill worth Tk 7,000 crore to different power distribution companies and state-owned organisations have been laying unrealized by the Power Development Board (PDB) for long, sources said.
According to them, the now defunct Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (DESA) could not pay Tk 2,600 crore as electricity bills when it was closed in 2008. At that time, all the assets and liabilities of the DESA were transferred to the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC).
Though the DPDC had inherited all the assets and liabilities of DESA, it could not pay the said amount even in nine years. Meanwhile, it also accumulated around Tk 1,300 crore to PDB in addition to DESA’s default of Tk 2,600 crore.
However, the DPDC has been paying its bills regularly since journey this year.
Similarly, the PDB’s arrears to the Rural Electrification Board (REB) stood at around Tk 1,500 crore while to different state-owned organisations also Tk 1,500 crore..
With a view to realising the outstanding electricity bills, the PDB has sent a letter recently to the Power Division under the Ministry of Power asking for its intervention to realise the arrears for about Tk 7,000 crore to different distribution companies and the government organisations like some ministries, corporate bodies and the city corporations.
According to a data, large portions of electricity purchased from different power generation companies were provided to Dhaka city alone. But the electricity that was sold was not paid regularly to the PDB. As a result, up to June 2008, the PDB alone owes Tk 2,600 crore to now defunct DESA.
It is to be noted that, following the donors pressure, the government had form Dhaka Electricity Supply Company Limited (DESCO) as company in the place of DESA.
Meanwhile, the PDB has sent letters to the DPDC on
several times. But the thing was not settled. This time, the PDB has sought the ministry’s intervention to resolve the issue.
Sources said, there has been disagreement between the PDB and the DPDC regarding the purchase of electricity. In the last nine years, the DPDC got about Tk 1,300 crore in arrears.
REB has been purchasing power from PDB, but irregular to pay the bill. As a result, PDB has owed around Tk 1,500 crore to REB.
When contacted, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told The New Nation on Monday that his ministry is trying to realize the unrealized electricity bill from different power distribution companies and government organizations. He said power generation at present is very expensive, so there no scope that any one will consume electricity without paying for it.
“We will be able to invest the huge amount of money to build more power plants in different regions of the country if the outstanding electricity bills are realized. The government plans to build more power plants to generate 3000MW electricity as early as possible,” said the state minister.
Meanwhile, PDB Chairman Khaled Mahmud told reporters that the PDB is purchasing power at high prices. It has taken loan for about Tk 40,000 crore from the government to fulfill the huge gap between the purchase and the sale. But the PDB has a lot of dues to various state-owned companies.
He hoped that there will be a way out soon to resolve the issue with the intervention of the ministry. In this case, the DPDC will share the same amount of money with the PDB, he added.
Khaled Mahmud said efforts are being made to resolve the DPDC’s troubles. That’s why the officials of both the organizations have been meeting more than once. Hopefully, it can be resolved soon, he said.
The REB’s electricity bill collection process is underway. Besides, some rural power companies are in losses. So the company is taking time to pay the dues. It is also trying to resolve quickly, the PDB chairman said.
In 2015, the PDB’s unrealized electricity bill stood at Tk 722.17 crore to various state-owned companies. In December, 2016, it increased to Tk 1,565 crore. By the end of July this year, it can reach around Tk 2,000 crore.
Due to non-payment of the outstanding bills of various city corporations, this amount has been raised to around Tk 1,000 crore.
Besides, PDB arrears to different mosques, temples and religious shrines under the Ministry of Religions Affairs is around Tk 125 crore, while Tk 100 crore to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, Tk 77 crore to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Tk 57 crore to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Tk 52 crore to the Home Ministry, Tk 50 crore to Textile and Jute Ministry, Tk 42 crore to Rural Development and Cooperatives, Tk 41 crore to the Ministry of Education, Tk 21 crore to the Ministry of Agriculture, Tk 20 crore to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry and Tk 16 crore to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
