Power and energy ministry wants Tk30,736cr allocation, Tk8,000cr subsidy

The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has proposed an allocation of Tk30,736 crore and another Tk8,000 crore in subsidy for the fiscal year 2020-2021. Some 93 projects in the power sector and 24 projects in the energy sector will be there to be implemented in the forthcoming fiscal. The transmission and distribution sectors under both power and energy divisions are getting priority in this year’s budget. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid made the disclosure at a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “To achieve 100 percent household electrification in the birth centenary of the father of nation, we are trying to give utmost priority to the distribution and transmission of power, and production and transmission of gas in the forthcoming fiscal,” said Nasrul Hamid. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the sector has suffered a massive setback in project implementation, energy usage, and revenue collection. A primary assessment of damages indicates that the sector would need budgetary supports from the government in the next fiscal year.” Of the Tk30,736 crore budget that the ministry proposed, Tk27,597 crore was sought for the Power Division and Tk3,138crore for the Energy and Mineral Resources Division. The proposed allocation the Power Division includes Tk24,803.93 crore from the annual development programme (ADP), Tk1,837.96 crore from ECA (export credit agency) financing, and Tk955.84 crore from self-financing. Meanwhile, the proposed allocation for the Energy and Mineral resources division allocation includes Tk1,835.62 crore from the ADP, Tk260.29 crore from the Gas Development Fund, and Tk1,042.74 crore from self-financing. The Power Division has used 97 percent of the ADP allocation it has received for the outgoing fiscal year, while the Energy Division has used 76 percent of its ADP allocation for the same fiscal.