Experts demand for immediate reform of the energy roadmap

A senior adviser to Bangladesh’s energy ministry has accused sections of the country’s power-sector business community and ministry officials of obstructing the transition to renewable energy.

Speaking on Monday at the closing session of the Bangladesh Energy Conference in Dhaka, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, said entrenched interests linked to fossil fuels were slowing progress towards cleaner energy sources.

“We have no choice but to rely on fossil fuels. We are doing this out of obligation. If there were another way, we would not have imported LNG,” he said.

Khan told the event, organised by the Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED), that both private power-sector actors and some government officials were resistant to change.

“The only obstacle to moving from fossil fuel dependence to renewable energy is some businessmen in the power sector and some officials in the ministry,” he said. “If we had the means today, we would have completely stopped importing LNG and closed these coal-based plants.”

Entrenched interests

Khan alleged that financial motivations lay behind some of the resistance to renewable energy development. “If there is fossil fuel dependence, the transaction benefits that we have with government officials will no longer exist,” he said. “Fossil fuel businessmen and power-sector employees have been involved in this.”

He also criticised historical practices in the sector, saying some projects had been granted without tenders. According to him, newer competitive procurement processes have helped cut the cost of electricity generation to around Tk 10 per unit.

Push for transparency

The adviser said the government was offering tax exemptions to encourage investment in solar energy. However, he warned that reforms aimed at reducing corruption were meeting predictable resistance.

“When we go from a corrupt system to a corruption-free system, we face some natural obstacles. Even then, we will make this sector corruption-free,” he said.

LNG dependence likely to continue

Despite his criticism of fossil-fuel interests, Khan said Bangladesh could not immediately end LNG imports without severe consequences for the economy and energy security.

“If we stop importing LNG without making arrangements for renewable energy, the entire country will be covered in darkness, and the production and export of industries will be disrupted,” he warned.