Power sector incurs loss of Tk 5,000 cr for taka devaluation

Mahfuz Emran: For various reasons, the government maintained the value of taka against the dollar. Different countries of the world changed the exchange rate of the dollar, but for more than two years it remained roughly at the same place against the taka. However, the government was forced to change it in 2021. Since then, the exchange rate of the dollar has been increasing, affecting various sectors of the economy, including import spending.
Foreign borrowing companies and organizations are facing huge losses due to the change in dollar exchange rate. One of them is the power sector. Organizations and companies in this sector have to pay large sums of money while paying installments of foreign loans. Again, the state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) has to count double losses as capacity charges and power plant maintenance costs have to be paid at the dollar exchange rate.
Analyzing the financial reports of five state-owned companies and companies in the power sector, it has been found that in two years (2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years), they had to calculate losses of around Tk 4,921 crores due to the devaluation of the taka against the dollar. Out of this, in the financial year 2022-23, organizations and companies have incurred losses of Tk 3,71.03 crore.
In the financial year 2021-22, the amount of loss was Tk 1,210.47 crore. In other words, the losses of organizations and companies have increased by Tk 2,500crore or 207 percent in one year.
Meanwhile, the taka depreciated nominally against the dollar in FY 2020-21. In that financial year, the five organizations and companies that produce and distribute electricity counted a loss of only Tk 46.42 crore. That is, the loss due to devaluation of taka increased by 26 times or 2600 percent in fiscal year 2021-22.
According to Bangladesh Bank, the dollar exchange rate at the end of the fiscal year 2020-21 was Tk 84.81. In the financial year 2021-22 it increased to Tk 93.45 and in the financial year 202-23 to Tk 106. That is, the exchange rate of dollar increased by Tk 8.64 in 2021-22 financial year and Tk 12.55 in 2022-23 financial year. Although currently this rate has exceeded Tk 110.
Meanwhile, PDB suffered the biggest loss last financial year due to the increase in dollar exchange rate. In the last financial year, the company has counted a loss of Tk 1550.07 crores in this sector. In the financial year 2021-22, PDB’s loss in this sector was Tk 611.59 crore. That is, PDB’s losses have increased more than 2.5 times in one year. However, in the financial year 2020-21, the loss due to devaluation of taka, PDB’swas only Tk 75 lakh. According to this, in the financial year 2020-21, PDB’s losses in this sector increased by about 458 times.
The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), which is in charge of electricity transmission across the country, suffered a loss of Tk 1,274.65 crore due to the increase in the value of the dollar last fiscal year. All of it went to repay foreign debt installments. In the financial year 2021-22, the loss of PGCB in this sector was Tk 535.80 crore. That is, the loss due to devaluation of money of this company has increased by about 138 percent in one year. And for the financial year 2020-21, the loss due to devaluation of PGCB was Tk 33.47 crore. According to this, in the financial year 2020-21, PGCB’s losses in this sector have increased almost 15 times.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO), which is in charge of electricity distribution in the northern part of Dhaka, has suffered a loss of Tk 428.47 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal year. All of it went to repay foreign debt installments. In the financial year 2021-22, DESCO’s loss in this sector was only eight crore Tk 46 lakh. That is, the loss due to devaluation of money of this company has increased almost 50 times in one year. And DESCO had no taka depreciation loss in FY 2020-21. Rather, the company made a profit of Tk 33 lakh in this financial year.
Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) is responsible for power distribution in southern part of Dhaka. The company suffered a loss of Tk 4.14 crore in the 2022-23 financial year due to the appreciation of the dollar, the entire amount of which went to repaying foreign debt installments. In the financial year 2021-22, the loss of DPDC in this sector was Tk 30.26 crore. That is, the loss of DPDC has increased almost 14 times in one year due to devaluation of taka. And in the financial year 2020-21, the company suffered a loss of Tk 11.71 crore due to devaluation of taka.
Meanwhile, West Zone Power Distribution Company is responsible for the distribution of electricity in 21 districts and 20 upazilas of the southern part of the country namely Khulna, Barisal and Greater Faridpur. This company has faced a loss of Tk 42.91 crore due to the increase in the value of the dollar in the fiscal year 2022-23. All of it went to repay foreign debt installments.
In the financial year 2021-22, West Zone Power loss in this sector was Tk 24.36 crore. That is, the loss of the company has increased by about 76 percent in one year due to devaluation of money. In the financial year 2020-21, the loss due to devaluation of the company was only Tk 82 lakh.