PDB sought Tk 42,893 cr subsidy for FY 2023

Mahfuz Emran: The Power Development Board (PDB) has been incurring huge losses for an age. The loss of this state-owned company is increasing due to buying electricity at a high price and selling it at a low price.
The government is regularly subsidizing PDB to meet this deficit. However, government expenditure in this sector has increased abnormally during the last two financial years.
According to the data of PDB, the cost of power generation increased greatly in the last financial year due to the increase in the price of fuel oil and coal in the world market. However, the expenditure started to decrease from February onwards. But overall production cost for the entire financial year was very high. Added to this is the additional capacity charge of the new power plant. Due to this, PDB faced record losses in the financial year 2022-23. In view of this, a record subsidy of Tk 42,893 crore has been sought for the last financial year. Although concessions are much less. And in the financial year 2021-22, PDB was given a subsidy of Tk 29,753 crores. In other words, last fiscal year, the subsidy demand of the organization has increased by Tk 13,140 crores or 44.16 percent.
Meanwhile, PDB was given subsidy of Tk 11,778 crores in the financial year 2020-21. That is, in the last three financial years, the subsidy demand of this state-owned organization has stood at Tk 84,424 crores.
However, Padma Bridge, Metro Rail, Elevated Expressway and Tunnel could be constructed with this amount of money.
According to PDB data, the company started incurring huge losses mainly from the financial year 2010-11.In that financial year, PDB was given a subsidy of Tk 4000 crores. In the next fiscal year (2011-12), if PDB’s losses increase further, a subsidy of Tk 6,356.69 crore is given. In the financial year 2012-13, the amount of subsidy reduced to Tk 4,486.24 crore. And in 2013-14 fiscal year, Tk 6,100 crores subsidy was given to increase the losses. In 2014-15, PDB’s losses increased further. In that financial year, the company was given a subsidy of Tk 8,978 crores. In 2015-16 financial year PDB’s losses were halved and the subsidy was reduced to Tk 4,365.24 crore. In 2016-17 financial year, PDB’s losses decreased further. In this, the organization was given a subsidy of Tk 3,994.52 crore. Till that financial year subsidy money was given as loan. Subsidy started as direct grant from FY 2017-18.Tk 5,485.81 crore was given as subsidy in that financial year. In the next financial year (2018-19), the subsidy is Tk 7,500 crore and Tk 7,439 crore in 2019-20. In other words, from 2010-11 to 2019-20 financial year, Tk 58,706 crores of subsidy has been given to PDB in 10 years.