The former Awami League government siphoned off billions of dollars in last 15 years in the name of capacity charge of renal or quick rental power stations. And this corruption was committed by the syndicate of ex-PM Sheikh Hasina and state minister Nasrul Hamid who were in charge of the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources ministry, along with adviser Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and senior secretary Ahmad Kaikaus and the top officials of the same ministry.
The syndicate, under a special law, provided facilities for the construction of rental-quick rental power plants to businessmen close to the then government and supporters of Awami without the process of tender.
Although these power plants run at an average of 25 to 30 percent of proposed capacity year after year, their owners grabbed thousands of crores of Tk in the name of capacity charges. Buoyed by capacity charges, these power traders siphoned huge amounts of money off the country. The influential syndicates who help them in process have also smuggled a huge amount of money out of the country. In this context, the anti-corruption commission has already decided to investigate the corruption of former state minister Nasrul Hamid.
According to the information of the electricity department, the Awami League government has given Tk 1 lakh 6 thousand crores to electricity traders in the last 15 years in the name of capacity charge bill. A significant amount of money went into the pockets of policy makers and beneficiaries of the power department of the then government. The exact amount of money that has been smuggled abroad in this way has not been known so far. However, experts fear that billions of dollars have been smuggled out of Bangladesh due to capacity charges.
Experts say, 'No Electricity No Payment' is the international standard. But for so long the Awami League government has given capacity charges without taking electricity to meet the demand of their favorite people. In return for this, the then government officials were given financial benefits by the beneficiary power traders. According to them, there is nothing more serious irregularity than charging the bill in the name of capacity charge without providing electricity. Initiatives should be taken to bring back the huge amount of money that has been siphoned off in the name of capacity charges as this money belongs to the citizens of the country. They also said that these rental and quick rental licenses are given to influential companies of the country without any kind of tender. Among them were Summit Group, S Alam Group, United Group, Confidence Group, Orion Group, Sikder Group, Unique Group, Baraka and other companies.
Originally, the Awami League government had once approved high-cost rental and quick rental power plants under the Immunity Act without following the tender process. In 2010, these power plants were to meet the emergency demand. But they could not be stopped even in the last decade and a half.
Former DG of Power Cell BD Rahmatullah told The Bangladesh Pratidin that Sheikh Hasina was the power minister of the then government and Nasrul Hamid was the state power minister. They didn’t lose control of this ministry in the last few terms as a lot of money is allocated for the implementation of various projects in this ministry. And Sheikh Hasina and Nasrul Hamid smuggled part of this money abroad anyway. They did not keep this money in the country's account. They have siphoned off most of the money. Similarly, businessmen like Aziz Khan of Summit Group who have benefited from these rental power plants have also laundered this huge amount to various places including Singapore. Former Prime Minister's power and energy advisor, PDB top officials were also involved in this. Apart from this, Sheikh Hasina and Nasrul Hamid have committed corruption with the assistance of the electricity businessmen who knowingly did this illegal work. That is why these businessmen are equally responsible for this corrupt activity. Many of them are now fugitives. They ran away because they did wrong, they looted illegally from Bangladesh and siphoned off this money. However, surely they will be caught. I fear billions of dollars have been smuggled out of the country in the name of capacity charges.
Bills are paid in dollars: From the fiscal year 2010-11 to the fiscal year 2021-22, the capacity charges that Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) had to pay were all billed in dollars. Rental power plants had to pay capacity charges in dollars. After rental-quick rental, several power plants were allowed to be set up in the private sector. Capacity charges for these centers, called Independent Power Producers (IPPs), are not paid directly in dollars. However, the capacity charges of IPPs had to be paid in Tk based on the dollar exchange rate. In this case, the exchange rate is determined by Sonali Bank's exchange rate. As a result, even if you don't get direct dollars, you have to pay a large amount of money for capacity charges here. The devaluation of the currency since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war has also increased the cost of paying capacity charges. It is feared that unscrupulous traders have siphoned off these dollar bills.
How the Corruption was done: There is no specific system for determining capacity charges in the country. However, in determining the capacity charge rate, the annual capacity charge is determined on the basis of negotiation in view of the proposals of the entrepreneurs involved in the construction of various power plants. The construction cost of the power plants has already been found to be very high due to direct licensing without any kind of tender. As a result, the capacity charge rate was also very high. However, the contracts of these centers have been repeatedly renewed and paid several times their capital cost through capacity charges. Using this malpractice, the companies of the power sector are all flourishing. Officials of the electricity division said that the owners have sold the rental and quick rental centers to the government several times. Several companies have taken thousands of crores in the name of capacity charges. On the other hand, initially rental and quick rental power plants were installed for a period of three years, but their period has been extended step by step. Those concerned said that 25 to 30 percent of the total investment of these centers is provided by investors, while the rest is met through bank loans. PDB i.e. the government repays the loan (as per the agreement) in three years with interest. Also the profit (Return of Equity) is given on the equity investment. Even though the government reimburses the construction cost of the power plant, the power plant remains with the company. Later the period was extended but the construction cost was paid again against the same power plant. It is slightly less than before. This is how rentals and quick rentals are looted.
(The report was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on September 9 and rewritten in English by Lutful Hoque Khan)
