Dec 5, 2025
| Staff Correspondent
Speakers at a press conference on Thursday cautioned that the energy and power sector continues to face structural challenges although many things have changed by this time.
Despite earlier commitments, authorities approved 2,220MW of new power generation capacity in FY2024-25, exacerbating Bangladesh's long standing issue of idle capacity, it should not be happening, they said while announcing their 3-day Bangladesh Energy Conference 2025 scheduled to be held between 6 and 8 December.
Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED) alongside other 16 organisations announced the event at the press briefing held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity.
This year's conference will take place at the Bangladesh Military Museum and is expected to bring together a wide spectrum of national and international stakeholders.
During the conference member Secretary of BWGED Hasan Mehedi claimed that over the past years, this organisation has created serious awareness in policy decision making area. Notable progress has included a halt on approvals for new fossil fuel-based power plants, a 10-year tax exemption for renewable energy investments, tenders for 5,238MW of solar power and the rollout of a programme to install 3,000MW of rooftop solar, it said.
This resulted in approximately Tk32,500 crore in capacity payments to private operators. Meanwhile, LNG imports surged by 13%, driving foreign currency expenditure to Tk40,759 crore, an alarming trend for an economy already under pressure.
News Link: Bangladesh Energy Confc starts Dec 6