Energy Security in Bangladesh

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all the member states of United Nations in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity of the people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve quality of life, health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

The seventh of the 17 goals calls for ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. 

In a June 14, 2021 report released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), it was announced that three countries, including Bangladesh, have made the best progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After receiving the 2030 Global Agenda in 2015, Bangladesh has achieved this progress in SDGS Index Score. The other two countries on the list are Afghanistan and Ivory Coast.

Energy security is defined as the ability of a country to ensure adequate, affordable as well as a consistent supply of energy for use in domestic, military, industrial and transportation.  Energy security further relates to present and future requirements of energy and ensure that energy deficiency never takes place for the consumers despite critical situations such as political instability and economic crisis.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines energy security as the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price. Energy security has many aspects: long-term energy security mainly deals with timely investments to supply energy in line with economic developments and environmental needs. On the other hand, short-term energy security focuses on the ability of the energy system to react promptly to sudden changes in the supply-demand balance.

Energy security should be reciprocal. It is a two-way street.  Security of demand is as important to producers, as security of supply is to consumers. 

The energy sector faces multiple threats from climate change, in particular from extreme weather events and increasing stress on water resources. Greater resilience to climate change impacts will be essential to the technical viability of the energy sector and its ability to cost-effectively meet the rising energy demands driven by global economic and population growth.

The inter-dependencies between energy and water are set to intensify in the coming years. Water is essential for all phases of energy generation, from production of fossil fuels and biofuels to power plant operation. Managing energy-water linkages is, and will continue to be, pivotal to the prospects for successful realization of a range of development and climate goals.

Half a century ago, in the 1970s, energy security referred to the provision of imports of oil at stable prices and the availability of domestic fossil fuels free from disturbance and from labor unrest. The goal of energy security was to prevent long lines of cars waiting for limited gasoline, or avoid electricity load shedding, or for the rural people of countries like ours, make kerosene oil available at affordable price for cooking and lighting. However, population growth and increasing levels of per capita resource consumption at better standard of living drives growing energy demand in the present time.  The modern energy landscape is complex, and energy security is a much broader and more dynamic concept than it was in the old time.

Public expectations have also evolved as a consequence. However, essentially a society should be able to carry on despite short term shocks to the supply of energy.

Renewable energy is an important component of energy security but it works differently from fossil fuels. For example, inertia functions differently. Inertia is the capacity of a power system to respond to unexpected shocks, and its ability to react and stabilize the system’s balance.

Future energy systems, responsive to this enlarged concept of energy security, will look very different. Large fossil fuel and synchronous generators will be replaced by a clean electricity system composed of small-scale, clean asynchronous generators. It will mix large renewable projects (which will mean extending the physical transmission network) with distributed energy generation (for example, from rooftop solar), and the network will require new systems to ensure coordination and stability.

There is a relationship between energy and development.  For any country, affordable energy, especially access to electricity, enables better health care, improved education, and greater food production. Infant mortality decreases, life expectancy increases, living standards improve. In the present time, citizens live longer, and earn a better living. In developing countries like Bangladesh, massive population growth, huge influx of people to cities, excessive water use, and increased numbers of automobiles are combining to make energy security the critical challenge of our time. In short, more development would require more energy.

While considering energy security, it has to be kept in view that fossil fuel era is nearing its end. The IEA on May 18, 2021 published a report outlining the essential conditions for the global energy sector to reach net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050. It presented the "most technically feasible, cost-effective and socially acceptable pathway" to show what is needed across the main sectors by various actors, and by when, for the world to achieve net-zero energy-related and industrial process CO₂ emissions by 2050.

There is a target — 75% reduction in methane emissions from fossil fuel use by 2030. Coal demand to decline by 90% to less than 600 million tonnes of coal equivalent in 2050, oil would decline by 75% to 24 million barrels per day and natural gas may decline by 55% to 1750 billion cubic meters. The roadmap sets out milestone to guide the global journey to net zero by 2050. These include, from today, no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects, and no further final investment decisions for new unabated coal plants. By 2035, there will be no sales of new internal combustion engine passenger cars, and by 2040, the global electricity sector would have already reached net-zero emissions.

World leaders, green groups and influencers reacted to a "terrifying" UN climate science report on August 9, 2021 with a mix of horror and hopefulness as the scale of the emergency dawned on many.

“Fossil fall guys”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report "must sound a death knell" for coal, oil and gas, and warned that fossil fuels were destroying the planet.

Energy Security Situation in Bangladesh                                                                                         

In 1971 at the time of liberation, 3 percent of the total population in Bangladesh had access to electricity, while today; about the entire population has been brought under the electricity network.  In the many areas that are too remote to be connected to the national electric grid system, solar power and photovoltaic cells are the people’s alternative choice for getting electricity.  In islands like Kutubdia, where national grid is not likely to be available in near future, wind power is being tried for harnessing, and has at present the largest wind power plant in the country.  People there also use solar power while there is an electricity generating station too.

At the time of liberation of Bangladesh, all the gas fields of the country were operated by foreign companies as they had discovered them.  Wise and prudent statesman Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as President of the country took a bold and far-reaching decision to ensure energy security of the independent country and took over the five gas fields, viz., Titas, Habiganj, Rashidpur, Kailashtila and Bakhrabad, on August 9, 1975 for only 4.5 million pounds sterling from the foreign companies.  His government rightly felt that in order to continue the trend of development, uninterrupted supply of energy to industries would have to be ensured.

The most important measure in the energy balance of Bangladesh is the total consumption of 53.6 bn kWh of electric energy per year. Per capita this is an average of 560 kWh, which is, however, one of the lowest in the world, and higher than only Nepal and Afghanistan in South Asia.

Like all the countries in South Asia, Bangladesh faces many of the same challenges as the rest of the world: the country’s economy to grow fast, raising energy demand growth; but the country has not developed sufficient domestic resources, remaining dependent on imports. The major state-owned utilities in the energy sector lack commercial incentives and tend to be inefficient; prices for fuels such as kerosene, LPG and diesel, and electricity are somewhat distorted that encourage their inefficient use. However, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission is now at the helm to bring about transparency and accountability in the sector by addressing these inconsistencies for creation of a level playing field for all, thereby attracting investment

Oil & Gas Sector

It is a fact that fossil fuels do, and will continue to dominate energy sectors around the world even as all seek ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with use of these fuels.  All said and done about fossil fuel, and its unpredictable pricing, proved reserve of petroleum crude oil and natural gas in the world is still abundant. Present reserve of oil will be good for at least seven decades, and natural gas is likely to see the world through about a hundred years. The quantum of petroleum product requirement will rise substantially if the country’s natural gas runs out and its dependence on liquid fuel increases.  At the same time, pressure on the country’s hard earned foreign currency will rise too.

Bangladesh does not have any oilfield and, therefore, all the oil required in the country has to be imported, about 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil for processing in the small refinery in Chattogram, about a million tonnes for Bashundhara Bitumen Refinery in Dhaka, and the rest as finished products. Present consumption of oil is 7 million tonnes of which about 5 million tonnes is High Speed Diesel Oil (HSDO) that is needed for transport and irrigation sectors. It is estimated that the quantity would go up to 10 million tonnes in 2030. Additionally, another large quantity of petroleum products is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).  Present consumption of LPG is about 1.2 million tonnes used for domestic cooking, industry and for transport vehicles as auto gas. About 20,000 tonnes of LPG is produced in the country, 15,000 tonnes in the refinery and 5,000 tonnes at Kailashtila Gas Field from natural gas.  Rest of it comes through imports from various countries and sources by 28 companies in the private sector.  This quantity would rise to 3 million tonnes in 2030.

Lubricating oil is another important product needed for all machinery operation.  Lubricant base oil is all imported for production of 25,000 tons in three blending plants in the country and the balance about 100,000 tons comes as finished products through imports from Gulf States and India. 

Bitumen is also an important petroleum product used mainly for road construction and repair. The present consumption in the country is about half a million tonnes of which about 60,000 – 70,000 tonnes was so long produced by the refinery, and the balance quantity was imported. But in 2020, Bashundhara Group set up one million tonnes capacity bitumen plant in Keraniganj, Dhaka. This plant can meet the entire requirement of the country and export a sizable quantity too.

Bangladesh is the nineteenth-largest producer of natural gas in Asia. Gas supplies presently meet 56% of domestic energy demand.

Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Equinor, Gazprom and ONGC have been major international oil companies (IOCs) engaged in Bangladesh's hydrocarbon industry, with Chevron's gas fields accounting for the largest of natural gas production.

Bangladesh is known to be one of the least exploited countries in the world.  Around 100 wells have been drilled for oil and gas in the last hundred years. This is a prime example, by any standard, of an underexplored country which has seen major gas discoveries in the past, and has been rated highly for further gas prospects.

To encourage natural gas exploration, with Bangabandhu’s farsightedness and keen interest for exploring hydrocarbon and developing the energy sector, the government opened the hydrocarbon sector to foreign investors in 1972, when a few major international oil companies carried out exploration in the offshore areas in the Bay of Bengal, but without any positive results. The next bidding round was opened in 1993 and 1997.  After initiating the First Bidding Round of Production Sharing Contracts, IOCs today produce about 850 MMCFD of natural gas, making over 50 percent of total gas production. The leading foreign producer is Chevron, which alone produces 800 MMCFD from the Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavibazar fields.

Over the last 20 years, Bangladesh consumed about 13 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas. During the same period, only less than 2 TCF of new gas reserve has been discovered. The number of exploration wells drilled during this time was merely 22.

The production level from existing discoveries of about 12 TCF of gas in the country is expected to start declining quickly in the next few years. However, the majority of geological areas in the country is still unexplored. In the Gas Sector Master Plan 2017, it is mentioned that there are still large upsides in the indigenous production in Bangladesh if further exploration successes can be achieved.  

At present gas demand in the country is over 3350 MMCFD, and the country produces about 2,400 MMCFD.  To meet the deficit, the government has taken a very timely step to import 800 MMCFD of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for which two Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) have been anchored at Maheshkhali from where the gas is transferred to the national gas grid for supplying to the customers.  Of the two FSRUs, one belongs to Petrobangla’s Rupantarito Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL).  This was installed in April 2018 and started operation in August that year. This is being operated by a US company Excelerate Energy on build, own and operate (BOO) basis for 15 years. A total of 310,553 MMCF LNG has been supplied through this facility till July 31, 2021.  The other similar FSRU belongs to local private energy company Summit and runs under same condition as that of the RPGCL. The second FSRU was completed and its operation started in April 2019. This facility supplied 246,773 MMCF LNG till July 31, 2021. A 1,000 MMCFD capacity land-based LNG receiving terminal is in the process of construction at Matarbari in Cox’s Bazar district. It is expected that the LNG import is going to be a regular feature to meet the country’s gas demand unless new discoveries are achieved.

Geologists believe the country's maritime exclusive economic zone holds one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the Asia-Pacific. Protectionism and a lack of technical capacity have impeded Bangladesh's potential to emerge as a major global hydrocarbon producer.

Coal

At present there is no unified coal policy and, as a result, extraction of the resources, though abundant, still remains in a nascent stage, while plan was to increase power generation from coal to 50 percent from 2 percent by 2021. However, the present coal power accounts for about 8 percent, and a few large coal power plants are coming up to generate electricity with imported coal. Only one coal mine in the country provides fuel for generation of 250 MW power at a mine-mouth plant.  However, the government has reportedly decided to scrap the approval for 10 coal-based power plants with a total generation capacity of 8,451 MW. The decision was taken considering the impact of new coal-fired power projects on the environment.  Bangladesh targets to produce 40% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2041, as part of its commitment to the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).

Electricity

Electricity is the major source of energy for most of the economic activities. Bangladesh's total installed electricity generation capacity (including captive power) was 4,948 megawatt (MW) in 2008, 15,351 MW as of January 2017 and 20,000 MW in 2018.  In 2021, the generation capacity has gone up to 25,235 MW.

Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka is an ancient city. There is a popular saying that the Nawab of Dhaka had installed a small generator in his palace "Ahsan Monzil", and started generating power at 5 pm on 7th of December 1901, which is considered as the introduction of electricity in Dhaka city. Later, around 1930, DEVCO, a subsidiary of Octavius Steel Company, developed electricity distribution system at 400 Volt level under private ownership and brought that for public access.  Probably in 1933, a power generation station named "Dhanmondi Power House" (DPH) was established with two 1500 kw generators each, from which the electricity distribution system of the city started for sale to the public on commercial basis.

At the time of partition of India in August 1947 when the British colonial rulers quit, power generation and distribution in the present territory of Bangladesh were in the hands of some private sector business houses. The power supply to the then 17 provincial districts was only within the district headquarters in a limited scale. The generation voltage was 400.  Power was supplied to most of the towns during the nighttime only.  Exception was in Dhaka where power was supplied round the clock from DPH and the generation voltage was 6600 volts, and this was the highest supply voltage at that time. There were no long-distance transmission lines, nor was there any interconnection between the towns. Besides, captive power was generated by some industries (tea, sugar and textile) and railway workshops.  Dhakeswari Cotton Mills, Pahartali Railway workshop, Saidpur Railway workshop and Sugar Mills were among them. In aggregate, the generation capacity of the country was 21 MW.  The generation capacity of the power utility companies together was only 7 MW and there was no transmission system. Later in 1960s, the largest generation was at 36 MW power house of Natural Gas Fertilizer Factory Fenchuganj (NGFF) in the district of Sylhet.

In 1948, Electricity Directorate was set up in order to plan and improve power supply situation. In 1959, East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (EPWAPDA) was established and a modern power system really started taking off.  In 1960, Electricity Directorate was merged with EPWAPDA. The philosophy was to give more autonomy to an organization for development of this basic infrastructure.  At that time, relatively higher capacity plants were built at Siddhirganj, Chittagong and Khulna (highest plant size was only 3 units of 10 MW Steam Turbine generators at Siddhirganj). At the same time, the Kaptai dam was under construction under Irrigation department.  Two units of 40 MW were installed at Kaptai, and this for that time was considered to be the largest power plant. Side by side construction of Siddhirganj-Kaptai 132 kV transmission line was in progress.  Construction of Kaptai dam and commissioning of Siddhirganj-Kaptai 132 KV transmission line in the year 1962 may be taken as a milestone of power development of this country.

In 1972, after the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was set up by dividing East Pakistan Water and Power Development Board (EPWAPDA) as a public sector organization to take control of the power sector.

The power sector of the country was a vertically integrated state-owned monopoly as Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), which with time was becoming too large with too many sub-sectors to keep control under one head.  In order for promoting security of power supply, with suggestions and financial assistance from the multilateral development partners like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, BPDB was slowly and steadily broken up and initially its transmission sector was separated as a new organization named Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Ltd. (PGCB) to own, operate, maintain and develop the transmission system to meet the growing need of the country.

During the mid-1970s the government had initiated reform of the power sector by establishing rural electrification for achieving a desirable social upliftment in the country. A different approach and a new model were considered for undertaking a comprehensive scheme. In October 1977, the BREB and later in 1991, the Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA) was created basically to operate and develop distribution system in and around the metropolitan area of Dhaka and to bring about improvement of customer service, collection of revenue and lessen the administrative burden of BPDB. Gradually, it was given the entire rural power distribution system to be done through Palli Bidyut Samities (PBSs), which are cooperatives of the users. In order to improve the electricity distribution system of the capital city, another utility, Dhaka Electric Supply Co. Ltd. (DESCO) was set up as a state-owned company by dividing DESA, and DESA has been renamed as Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd. (DPDC).  Two more electricity distribution companies have been established – one for the Khulna zone and another for Bogra-Rangpur zone, viz., Western Zone Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (WZEDC) and Northern Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (NESC) respectively.

It may be mentioned here that because of the large investment required for installing new power plants in the public sector, Independent Power Producers (IPP) policy was adopted by the government in 1996 at the initiation of the World Bank.  As of June 2009, Bangladesh had total installed capacity of 4942 MW at both BPDB and IPP units in the country.

The transmission network of BPDB (now PGCB) is 12,848 route km long comprising 230 KV, 132 KV and 66 KV lines and the total capacity is 52,364 MVA.

From the above, it may be observed that the prevailing situation of Bangladesh power situation was rather poor.  But with the government’s strong and effective position on energy sector development, the scenario has changed a lot and, in the last one decade, the generation capacity rose to more than 25,000 MW and the government’s vision of providing electricity to all by the year 2020 met with success.

The following table would show the growth of the power sector in the last 12 years under the present government’s regime:

Source: Power Cell

One most outstanding achievement in ensuring energy security was constructing transmission grid between Bangladesh and India in 2015 for exchange of power between the two friendly neighboring countries. A total of 1,160 MW power is being imported from India and the process is ongoing.  It is, however, a two-way power transmission link, and, if needed, India may also import from Bangladesh.

Other Options

Although non-renewable, nuclear energy is a clean reliable source for stable energy supply around the world. A total of 443 nuclear power plants currently operate in 32 countries. Most are in Europe, North America, East Asia and South Asia. The United States is the largest producer of nuclear power, while France has the largest share, 70 percent of electricity generated by nuclear power. In addition to the commercial nuclear power plants, there are about 220 research reactors operating in over 50 countries, with more under construction, also for producing medical and industrial isotopes. Nuclear reactors are used for marine propulsion too, mostly in naval ships.

In the face of reducing fossil fuel use in all aspects of life, Bangladesh’s decision to install two nuclear power plants at Rooppur known as Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) is a bold and correct decision. The power plant will have two reactors and two generators of 1,200 MW capacity each.  The first unit will be ready for operation in 2023 and the second unit in 2024.

Nuclear Power Reactors of RNPP

According to estimates made in 2019, the global nuclear fuel uranium reserves were over 8 million tonnes, sufficient for over a hundred years at current level of consumption. It is, however, believed that the world will not run out of uranium for centuries to come.

In the last 75 years, serious nuclear power plant accidents were three – the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011), the Chernobyl disaster (1986), and the Three Mile Island accident (1979).  There was also the SL-1 accident (1961). Nuclear power accidents can involve loss of lives and large monetary involvement for remediation work.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy (RE) has become a viable option and is the ultimate answer to mitigate the impact on climate. Use of renewable energy sources still remains at an insufficient level, despite significant potential being available. We see the accelerating growth of rural electrification, and the growing recognition of its importance in many parts of the world.  Many of the technologies will provide part of the answer to our long-term sustainable energy needs.

Renewable energies have the virtue not only of being clean and potentially abundant, but they also can add to security and lower dependence on imported fossil fuels. There are many potential sources of renewable energy, but the technology for capturing and storing intermittently generated power is not adequate. 

Solar Power

Solar energy has several great benefits, including eliminating electric bills and avoiding utility inflation. It represents an infinite source of power. Solar energy also protects the environment, creates jobs and saves the user from paying electricity bills. 

Worldwide usage of solar energy varies greatly by countries. As of 2019, China had the largest solar energy capacity in the world of 204,700 MW, about 3.9% of China’s total energy consumption.

Bangladesh has one of the world’s largest domestic solar energy programs. The World Bank and other development organizations, along with the private sector, are working with the government to bring affordable, solar-powered electricity to places where the traditional grid doesn’t reach.

Small-scale solar home systems now provide electricity to more than 4.0 million households and about 20 million people in rural areas, roughly one-eighth of the country's population.

The program has also introduced 1,000 solar irrigation pumps and 13 solar mini-grids.

Wind Power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy by wind turbines into a useful form, such as electrical or mechanical energy. The power is directly proportional to the velocity of the wind. Wind energy was the first source of energy in the history of mankind.  It has been put to use for around 5000 years. During the last decades, the technology for wind energy has improved very fast. Early wind wheels could produce just a couple of kWh; while new turbines can produce millions of kWh a year with rated power up to 6 MW.

The present day phase of wind electric generators (WEG) started with the oil crisis of middle east during 1975, when renewed need was felt for the government to get new and renewable sources of energy. Work under development of wind electric generators started in many countries notably Denmark, Germany, USA, UK, the Netherlands etc. This development took two directions: one large size and other small size.

In Kutubdia, a wind battery hybrid power plant (WBHPP) is the first grade quality, 11 kV, largest and successful renewable energy project in Bangladesh and was supplying 3 hours during day times and 3-4 hours during night times. The WBHPP has been running well for more than two years. They were supplying 0.60 to 0.80 MWh electrical energy every day at 11KV. The WBHPP supplied more than 240 MWh electrical energy to the consumers at Kutubdia Upazilla sadar.

In the islands and southern coast line of Bangladesh, the average wind speed remains between 3 and 4.5 m/s in the months of March to September and 1.7 to 2.3 m/s for the residual period of the year. So, in islands and coastal areas, the appeal of wind mills for pumping and electrification is very high. BPDB has completed a 1000 kW capacity wind battery hybrid power project in Kutubdia island. Under this project, a total of 50 units of 20 kW capacity stand-alone type wind turbines were installed. The total power generated by all the wind turbines is stored in a battery bank. Wind Battery Hybrid Power Plant (WBHPP) was officially started on March 30, 2008. The other project of BPDB has completed a 0.90 MW capacity grid connected to wind energy at Muhuri Dam area in Feni district in 2004.  One major benefit of wind turbines is that they do not need any fuel for electricity generation. The wind condition for generation of electricity at different places in Bangladesh is different. The maximum annual average wind speed is 2.42 m/s in Cox’s Bazar and minimum 2.08 m/s in Hatia Island. 

The cabinet committee on public purchase recently approved the construction of a 55 megawatt capacity wind power plant at Mongla in Bagerhat.

Biomass Power

Biomass is a potential source of energy in Bangladesh. The rural economy is plagued by slow growth rate, unemployment problem, deficient infrastructure and abject poverty. Currently, Bangladesh is the seventh most crowded countries in the world and biomass provides 75% of the total energy. Since it is an agrarian country, biomass is almost like renewable energy source in Bangladesh. Agricultural crop residues, animal manure and municipal solid waste are the major sources of biomass energy in the country.

In the National Energy Policy 1966, it is stated in Article III.1.3 that “Direct and total replacement of biomass fuels by commercial energy will be prohibitive for financial and infrastructural constraints. Biomass fuels will, therefore, continue to play an important role in energy scene of the country for many years to come”. It has been observed that the trend of use of biomass fuels will continue at least beyond 2030.

In fact, biomass fuels are still the major cooking fuels in Bangladesh and they account for 75 percent of cooking fuels, while 13 percent get piped natural gas and 11 percent use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).  Electricity is also used by some for cooking purpose. Majority of the rural households are the majority users of biomass fuel for cooking. Statistics of their supply and consumption are not considered in the national accounting system for estimating GDP. As the biomass fuels are noncommercial, they are generally identified in the literature as non-commercial fuels. Thus the important contribution of biomass fuels remains unaccounted for in the national economy.

Conclusion

Given that it is very important to ensure energy security, considering the fact that large investments would be required for the purpose, and considering the fact that all of such large investments would not be forthcoming from the domestic market, and considering further that the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) initiative has not met with much success yet in the energy sector, it would be necessary to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in all of the energy sectors. But, according to ADB, “If Bangladesh is to attract greater investment, particularly from abroad, it will need to address some increasingly binding constraints. These are felt especially in infrastructure and the business environment, and include acute power shortages, transportation bottlenecks, inadequate and inefficient port facilities, high business startup costs, and slow institutional reforms”.

It has also to be kept in view that improving energy efficiency may be the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to manage energy supply problems over the longer term. Effective conservation can reduce the quantum of energy imports, and help on the environmental front as well. In addition, lower demand for energy would reduce the security concerns and promote activities for more sustainable development. International cooperation could provide development of new technologies and standards in the energy sector to improve energy security, boosting the country’s economic growth.

Finally, energy security is one of the prime issues of today’s development agenda of the country.

A.S.M. Bashirul Huq: Former Director, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation