During the 15 years of misrule under the Awami League government, the power and energy sector turned into a playground for rampant looting and money laundering. To conceal these irregularities, the rulers of the time put on an artificial show of keeping the power supply reasonably normal. However, following the regime change on August 5, 2024, the public's hopes for real reform quickly turned into deep frustration due to the actions of the interim government.

Upon taking power, the government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus appointed former bureaucrat Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan as the power and energy advisor. Instead of breaking free from the controversial policies of the Awami League era and Nasrul Hamid’s influence, the policies governing the power sector remained unchanged. The power division was systematically driven into bankruptcy, pushing the country toward severe load-shedding—a outcome directly stemming from a deep administrative and political conspiracy.

Gap Between Rhetoric and Reality: Retaining Old Contracts Under the Guise of Indemnity When the interim government assumed office, it announced that licenses for idle power plants—which were draining public funds under the guise of capacity charges—would be revoked. However, the reality proved to be the exact opposite.

• Legal Loophole of the Indemnity Act: The ordinance issued to repeal the controversial "Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act, 2010" (popularly known as the Indemnity Act) turned out to be a deceptive document. It stated that all previously executed contracts and activities would continue as if the act had never been repealed. • Continuation of the Looting Network: Despite bold warnings, no action was taken against most inactive and unviable power plants. Allegations grew strong that substantial financial transactions and the protection of vested interests were behind this inaction. A Sector Run on Credit: The Final Nail in Bankruptcy Throughout its one-and-a-half-year tenure, the Yunus government showed severe negligence in clearing the power sector's dues. Aside from making minor payments to Adani, everything else—including coal imports, gas imports, and capacity charges—was conducted entirely on credit.

Breakdown of Outstanding Debts Under the Yunus Government:

├── Total Outstanding Debt: Approx. 45,000 Crore BDT ├── Dues to Private Oil-Based Power Plants: 14,000 Crore BDT └── Period of Unpaid Bills: 8 Consecutive Months (Starting July 2025) Having left behind a massive burden of unpaid debt without settling accounts, neither international nor local suppliers are currently willing to provide energy on credit. Consequently, a shortage of coal and gas has forced one power plant after another to shut down operations.

A Blow to Renewable Energy and Double Standards

At a time when the grid was suffering from an acute deficit in solar and wind power, the Yunus government took several suicidal decisions:

• Cancellation of 37 Renewable Projects: Around 3,287 MW capacity across 37 public, private, and joint-venture renewable power projects—approved between February 2019 and May 2024—were canceled in a single stroke. • Loss of Investor Confidence: Although tenders were re-issued for 55 solar power plants to replace the canceled ones, only 11 plants (totaling 900 MW) submitted bids. In the absence of a sovereign guarantee, both international and domestic investors backed away. • Reversal on Rampal: Despite being environmentally destructive and posing a severe threat to the Sundarbans, the Rampal power plant was kept operational rather than being canceled, exposing the government's hypocrisy and double standards.

Opacity and Irregularities in LNG Imports Under the guise of reforming the power and energy sector, Dr. Yunus’s leadership oversaw fresh irregularities. During the World Economic Forum meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, BIDA signed a non-binding agreement with the Louisiana-based US firm "Argent LNG" for liquefied natural gas imports.

This agreement was executed without any tender process, keeping Petrobangla completely in the dark. Frequent breakdowns of LNG terminals disrupted gas supply to the national grid, causing severe setbacks to industrial factories and electricity generation.

Power Sector in ICU: Public Anger Overflows

According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the mountain of outstanding dues in the power sector stood at 45,000 crore BDT when the new government assumed office. For eight months, private companies received no payments for their bills. As a result of this engineered crisis, the entire country is now plunged into load-shedding and darkness. In the words of Power and Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku: "The power sector was already in a fragile state, but the policy measures of the interim government have effectively sent it to the ICU." Due to extreme failure, negligence, and administrative conspiracy, ordinary citizens are forced to endure intense heat in the dark. Crushed between the sector's bankruptcy and mounting daily hardship, public anger is now blazing like a wildfire.

Author: Dr. Abul Hasnat Milton, Journalist, Political Analyst, and Chief Editor, The Source News Bangla