Dhaka: The interim government has repaid an amount of Tk. 18,631 crore as outstanding foreign power bill against electricity imports, power division officials said today.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the government has been actively working to settle outstanding bills, including those owed to India’s Adani Power. Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Dr. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan confirmed that Tk. 5000 crore has been paid to Adani Power Limited against its dues of Tk. 7934.89 crore, with Tk. 2,363.50 crore still remaining.
Khan highlighted that the government has taken various steps to minimize avoidable expenditures related to different power projects, resulting in a savings of Tk. 6,479 crore. Power division officials noted efforts to reduce the import service charge from 9 percent to 5 percent, saving Tk. 470 crore. Additionally, by increasing the quantity of shipment to 20,000 tonnes from 15,000 tonnes, Tk. 354 crore was saved. Tariff renegotiations have also led to an annual savings of Tk. 2,500 crore, as the new rates are lower than the average selling price of Tk. 8.95 per unit.
The government made further cost-cutting measures by shutting down 10 inefficient and outdated old plants operated by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) or rental power plants, which collectively had a generation capacity of 1010 MW, saving Tk. 525 crore. Public power generation companies have also taken steps to save Tk. 2630 crore.
Additionally, the power division has approached the National Board of Revenue (NBR) with a request to reduce the tax at source to 6 percent. Meanwhile, the revenue income target from renting establishments has been set at Tk. 9210 crore.
On May 6, 2025, the advisory council meeting approved an amendment to the Renewable Energy Policy in principle. Under this policy, the government has set a target to produce 3,000 MW of green energy from rooftop solar panels across the country. The rooftop solar programs are scheduled for implementation by December this year, with the extra electricity to be connected to the national grid.