Current load shedding crisis is result of Yunus-Fouzul conspiracy

During the 15 years of the Awami League rule, there was unlimited looting in the power and energy sector. However, to conceal this corruption, the Awami League tried to keep the power supply reasonably stable. As a result, the general public did not pay much attention to the massive siphoning of money and looting from this sector. Following the political shift on 5 August 2024, the Yunus government came to power. Upon assuming power, Yunus appointed Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan as the power and energy adviser. This former bureaucrat was extremely close to Nasrul Hamid and had served as a consultant for multiple projects in this ministry during the Awami League regime. There were corruption allegations against him as well.

Consequently, despite the change of power after 5 August 2024, the power and energy policy remained unchanged. The Yunus government initiated fresh looting in this sector. While taking policy decisions on various matters, the Yunus government continued past practices in the power and energy sector. Experts believe that the current severe load-shedding is part of a planned conspiracy by the Yunus government. According to them, today's load-shedding is due to a blueprint drawn up by the Yunus government to make an elected government face public backlash.

When the Yunus government came to power, it announced that the operational capacity of private sector power plants would be reviewed, and licenses of inactive plants taking regular capacity charges would be canceled. However, despite throwing rhetoric, Fouzul Kabir did not cancel the licenses of most of these idle power plants due to massive monetary transactions behind the scenes. The Yunus government's ordinance repealing the 2010 Indemnity Act was a farcical and deceptive document. It stated that projects and contracts signed under the Indemnity Act would continue as if the act had not been repealed, meaning all past projects and contracts remained intact. In 2010, the Awami League government enacted the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act to award contracts without competitive bidding. As it barred challenging any decision made under it in court, it became known as the Indemnity Act.

The gazette notification issued by the interim government on 28 November 2024, stated that all contracts signed or measures taken under this law would be deemed valid, and ongoing activities under those contracts would continue.

Furthermore, despite being in power for a year and a half, the Yunus government operated almost entirely on credit, except for paying some dues to Adani. Coal imports, capacity charges, and gas imports were all kept on credit. As a result, Yunus departed, leaving behind a massive burden of unpaid debts. The current government faces immense pressure to clear these outstanding debts after coming to power. Now, no entity is supplying goods on credit. Consequently, many power plants have shut down production due to a shortage of coal and gas.

The Yunus government made several decisions in the power sector that went against national interests. During this period, a maximum of 650MW of electricity per day entered the national grid from renewable sources. Yet, the Yunus government canceled licenses for over 3,000 MW capacity of renewable energy-based power plants. Using the pretext that these licenses were issued under the Indemnity Act, the power plants' licenses were canceled within a month of taking office. Former Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Advisor Fouzul Kabir Khan made this decision during a meeting of the Power Division. Consequently, 37 renewable energy-based power plants in the pipeline—spanning public, private, and joint ventures—were canceled. Their combined generation capacity was 3,287 MW. Although local and foreign investors lobbied various authorities to recover the Letters of Intent (LOI) or preliminary approval letters issued to the private sector, their efforts were in vain. Instead, the Yunus government canceled these and floated new tenders for 55 grid-connected solar power plants. Despite calling for tenders for 5,238 MW, there was hardly any response; bids were submitted for only 11 power plants with a capacity of just 900 MW. The primary reason for investor disinterest was the absence of a "sovereign guarantee," which investors consider crucial for securing international funding and ensuring project reliability. Because the Yunus government did not provide sovereign guarantees, private sector entrepreneurs took a cautious stance regarding the new tenders. According to the Power Development Board (PDB), the LOIs for the renewable energy power plants canceled during the interim government had been issued between February 2019 and May 2024. Among them, 27 were solar projects, three were wind projects, and one was a waste-to-energy project. Construction for these plants was targeted for completion between 2025 and 2026, with land acquisition underway for several of them.

The 27 solar power plants had a generation capacity of 2,404 MW, mostly planned for construction in the Rangpur, Chittagong, and Mymensingh divisions. The three wind power plants were to be built in Sonagazi of Feni, Assasuni of Satkhira, and Chakaria of Cox's Bazar, with capacities of 30 MW, 100 MW, and 220 MW, respectively. The 11 MW waste-to-energy plant was scheduled for construction in Brahmanbaria.

On the other hand, three renewable energy-based plants of the PDB were under tender evaluation, with capacities of 7.6 MW, 20 MW, and 50 MW. The first was planned next to the Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Station, the second in Barapukuria, and the third in Rangunia. Additionally, a tender for constructing a 160 MW joint-venture solar power plant in Moheshkhali was under evaluation. Furthermore, tenders called for constructing 50 MW wind power plants in Inani, Cox's Bazar, and 50 MW in Chandpur were canceled, and the approvals for these two plants—which were in the re-tendering process—were also revoked.

A senior PDB official noted that all 37 canceled power plants were in progress under the Indemnity Act. While those were canceled, other power plants under the same law were legitimized, representing a clear double standard by the government. Had these projects not been canceled at the time, several power plants would have entered production by now, significantly easing the daily power shortage.

For this reason, Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku remarked that the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus had effectively sent the country's power sector to the ICU. To recover from that state, the government has initiated steps to reinstate the Letters of Intent (LOI) or consent letters for the 31 renewable energy and power projects canceled during the Yunus regime. Iqbal Hasan Mahmud stated, "The power sector was already in a fragile condition, but the interim government's policy steps effectively sent it to the ICU. Despite court directives, 37 LOIs were canceled, whereas those projects should have been kept active or renegotiated. This has significantly eroded investor confidence in Bangladesh's renewable energy sector."

While revoking the licenses of these power plants, the Yunus government did not cancel the license for the Rampal power plant. They clearly stated regarding Rampal that canceling such projects was extremely difficult, and therefore no decision was being taken to revoke them. Apart from other projects, the environmentally destructive Rampal project is severely destabilizing Bangladesh. The Rampal project was undertaken against public consent, violating environmental rights and threatening a World Heritage site. There were ample justifications and avenues to take initiatives for its cancellation, yet the Yunus government claimed without trying that it could not be canceled.

How could there be looting in the power and energy sector without Prof Yunus partaking in it?

In January of last year, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. During the visit, on January 24, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) signed a non-binding agreement with US-based Argent LNG for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. This agreement represents a flawed and anti-national interest step taken by the interim government in the energy sector. LNG terminals have become a burden for us; despite promises of regular gas supply, these terminals break down every few days. Reliance on them is disrupting gas supply, harming production in power plants and industrial factories. Yunus created another disaster in the energy sector through this deal for personal gain. Petrobangla was unaware of the contract, reflecting an opaque process. Was any tender floated for this contract? How was this company selected? The entire process mirrored the methods of the Awami League era.

According to the Power Development Board, when the BNP government took office in February, the power sector owed Tk45,000 crore to local and foreign companies. Among this, private companies involved in oil-based power generation were owed Tk14,000 crore. During its one-and-a-half-year tenure, the Yunus government did not pay power bills to private companies for eight months.

Private entrepreneurs stated that the Yunus government stopped clearing bills after July 2025. They expressed suspicion over whether the interim government deliberately created this situation to put the new government in a tight spot.

In a year and a half, Yunus and Fouzul have left the power and energy sector destitute and bankrupt. They intentionally created a situation so that the new government would face immediate public wrath over electricity upon taking power. Did Yunus send the power sector to the ICU as part of a conspiracy to stay in power for another 50 years?