Download Link for Energy & Power Vol 20 Issue 3 As PDF /userfiles/EP_20_04.pdf

Bangladesh is going to observe the National Energy Security Day on August 9. The day comes at a time when the country’s weaknesses in the sector were exposed in a manner that unless remedial measures are immediately taken, the consequences will only aggravate the insecurities in the long run. Consumers have been enjoying an almost uninterrupted supply of electricity for the last few years and the comfort continued until mid-July. But to the surprise of the consumers, who are aware of the fact that the country has more power generation capacity than the demand, the government had to start rationing electricity from July 19 last. Regretting the inconvenience, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid explained why the government decided to go for an area-wise scheduled power outage for one or two hours across the country. And, that has exposed the weak point of the energy sector development mainly in the last 13 years when the generation capacity has increased substantially and the distribution network coverage reached 100%. Sector experts blame the inept development policy that is mostly dependent on imported fuel. The global fuel market volatility has brought the downside risks of such development to light.     

Thanks to the volatility that has rather offered Bangladesh an opportunity to give a fresh look to its energy sector development plan before it is too late.