Cancel the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP) of Bangladesh

The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) is currently formulating the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP) for Bangladesh with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA supported the formulation of the Power System Master Plan in 2010 and 2016 with overreliance on imported fossil fuels, especially coal and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). In the post-pandemic economic crisis, Bangladesh is facing a serious shortage of fossil fuels. A big number of power plants have to be kept idle due to fuel shortage, although the government spends hard-earned foreign exchange reserves for importing fuels. The problems could have been resolved by spending for Renewables earlier. There is a serious lack of transparency and accountability in the IEPMP formulation process. Neither JICA nor the Government disclosed the project's budget, which clearly violates the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. There was no meaningful participation also. 47 Japanese experts are involved directly with the IEPMP formulation process without involving any Bangladeshi expert. IEEJ & JICA has not organized any consultation meetings in different zones of Bangladesh; energy users, Renewable Energy (RE) developers, small businesses, domestic consumers, ethnic minorities, gender groups and youths have not been consulted in the process. Even the parliamentarians, especially the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Planning; and Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministery of Information, are kept in the dark. JICA organized two consultation meetings and one dissemination meeting with the participation of CSOs. But none of their recommendations have been reflected in the document. Due to the overestimation of demand in earlier PSMPs, Bangladesh is currently facing serious overcapacity in the power sector.

Currently, the total installed capacity in the power sector is 24,143 MW, while the maximum demand is 15,648 MW. That means 8,495 MW of installed capacity, or 54.3% of the demand, was idle year-round. In the last 12 years, the Government had to pay BDT 1,32,268.20 crore (USD 16 billion) as the capacity charge for these stranded assets and will pay around BDT 23,000 crore (USD 2.12 billion) in FY 2022-23. In the fourth draft of IEPMP ( December 2022), IEEJ estimated the total demand for power as 97 GW (installed capacity 111.14 GW) in 2050, which is further overestimated, according to Bangladesh's energy and economic experts. This over-estimation will put further pressure on the national economy. The Government of Bangladesh formulated the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) in September 2021, and on 27 February 2023, the Cabinet approved it to implement.