Outstanding payments owed by Bangladesh’s Power Development Board (BPDB) to government, private and joint-venture power plants have climbed to nearly BDT 440 billion, according to BPDB sources, covering electricity purchased between December 2025 and June 2026. The figure is set to rise further when July arrears are added.

BPDB officials said the board owed BDT 437.75 billion as of June 2026 for electricity bought from its own plants, privately owned facilities and plants built through domestic and foreign joint ventures. Of that, BDT 136.9 billion was owed to furnace oil-fired plants. The rest comprised dues to coal-fired plants, power formally imported from India and Adani Power.

The arrears are not a new development but part of a pattern that has persisted under successive governments, two BPDB officials told Bonik Barta on condition of anonymity. The outstanding amount has fluctuated over time, at times reaching the equivalent of 10 months of bills and at others falling to five months.

Arrears naturally accumulate when bills are not settled regularly, the officials said. Including payments for imported power, BPDB’s total outstanding now stands at nearly BDT 440 billion.

Earlier in February 2026, arrears owed to power producers had exceeded BDT 500 billion under the interim government. The outstanding amount then fell by nearly half after the BNP-led government took office. It has since begun rising again, driven by a lack of funds to address the fuel crisis, delays in the Finance Division’s subsidy payments and slower bill settlement.

A shortfall in LNG imports, technical faults at terminals and declining domestic gas production have cut output from Bangladesh’s gas-fired power plants, triggering widespread load-shedding and severely disrupting industrial production. To keep factories running, the government now plans to divert gas from power plants to industry, while raising generation from furnace oil-fired plants as an alternative.

Private power producers say they are ready to increase output from their furnace oil-fired plants, but only after their outstanding bills are settled. BPDB currently owes them about BDT 140 billion. They are seeking payment of at least five months of arrears, along with a commitment to regular bill payments, to ensure uninterrupted fuel oil imports.

“BPDB is currently taking a maximum of 3,500 MW from furnace oil-fired plants. Another 2,500 MW can be supplied if the necessary fuel can be imported for these plants,” Bangladesh Independent Power Producers Association (BIPPA) President David Hasanat told Bonik Barta. “The government would then have to clear at least five months of arrears and keep fuel import payments on schedule. That would make it possible to supply 5,000 MW from oil-fired plants.”

BPDB sources said the board owes the most to private gas-fired plants, followed by furnace oil-fired plants, with coal-fired plants accounting for the remainder. Among private companies, Summit has the largest outstanding balance, with BPDB owing it BDT 50 billion — BDT 22 billion owed for its furnace oil-fired plants and BDT 28 billion for its gas-fired plants.

United Group is also owed a substantial sum by BPDB. The conglomerate has total receivables of BDT 32 billion for electricity supplied by its gas- and oil-fired plants, including about BDT 25 billion for furnace oil-fired units and roughly BDT 7 billion for gas-fired facilities.

A precise breakdown of arrears owed to the country’s other private gas- and oil-fired plants was not immediately available, but their combined dues are understood to be at least BDT 150 billion. Substantial sums are also outstanding to joint-venture plants, for the 1,160 MW of power formally imported from India and for Adani’s facility.

Bangladesh has at least 7,000 MW of coal-fired generation capacity, developed through public-private joint investment. While BPDB has managed to settle arrears owed to the government and joint-venture plants, it is struggling to clear its dues to private producers.

The 1320 MW coal-fired SS Power Plant at Banshkhali in Chattogram is also among those affected. BPDB’s arrears to the plant have exceeded BDT 37 billion. Its monthly electricity bill is close to BDT 10 billion, but BPDB has been paying only 60 to 70 percent of that amount. The shortfall has severely hampered the plant’s fuel import planning and increased the risk of difficulties in servicing its loans.

SS Power Chief Financial Officer Ebadat Hossain Bhuiyan told Bonik Barta: “The plant is running at full capacity and supplying electricity according to BPDB’s demand. But the monthly bills are not being paid in full — affecting plant operations and the project’s debt. More than BDT 37 billion in unpaid bills has piled up since April, putting significant pressure on fuel import supply management.”

Attempts to contact BPDB Chairman Engineer Md Rezaul Karim for comment on the power plants’ outstanding bills were unsuccessful.