DHAKA, June 12, (V7N)– Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood today strongly criticized the financial legacy of the previous administration, stating that past agreements signed under the guise of "capacity charges" have left a crushing economic burden on the state.
Speaking to officials during an inspection of the Power Grid Bangladesh PLC (PGCB) and the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) in Dhaka, the minister emphasized that while the current government is determined to address the issue, the contracts cannot be dismantled overnight. Because the agreements are legally and contractually sensitive, the Ministry of Law is currently re-evaluating the existing pacts to determine viable legal solutions.
Beyond the financial strain of capacity payments, Mahmood pointed out severe structural imbalances within the country's electricity network. He noted that while Bangladesh's overall power generation and transmission capacities have successfully expanded, the development of the local distribution system has severely lagged behind.
This mismatch has created a bottleneck in the supply chain. The minister explained that unplanned expansions of distribution lines by the previous government have left the network fragile, resulting in persistent localized supply limitations and prolonged power outages in many areas despite functioning power plants.
During his visit to the national grid facilities, Minister Mahmood took steps toward modernizing the network by inaugurating a newly built "Protection and Automation Lab" under the grid's System Protection and Metering Circle.
Crucially, the minister also shared a major milestone for the country's energy future, revealing that advanced preparations are actively underway to commission and bring the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant into full operation this coming November.
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