Powerless By Choice

Bangladesh's deepening energy crisis stems from years of political indecision over domestic resource exploration and renewable development.

- Mollah Amzad Hossain & Afroza Akther Pervin

With 65% of its power and energy now reliant on costly imports, the country faces mounting financial pressure, infrastructure bottlenecks, and growing vulnerability to global price shocks. Unless political leaders reach a national consensus to harness local gas, coal, and renewables, Bangladesh risks sliding into an energy famine that could derail industrial growth, employment, and long-term economic stability.

Bangladesh's energy crisis is growing worse with each passing year. The most pressing concern lies in the widening gap between the demand and supply of natural gas, the country's primary fuel for industry and power generation. For years, policymakers and industry leaders had hoped the situation would improve. Instead, the opposite has happened. With gas supplies falling short, the power sector can now operate barely half of its installed capacity. Fertilizer factories are getting only about half the gas they need, while manufacturing industries struggle to run their captive power plants and production lines. The result has been a 20-40 percent fall in output across many sectors.

To keep production going, many factories have been forced to switch to costly alternative fuels, further driving up operating expenses. Yet, unreliable electricity supplies continue to prevent industries from moving away from captive generation altogether. Even after importing over 1,000 million cubic feet of LNG per day, the country still faces a deficit of another 1,200-1,300 MMCFD.

Coal-fired power plants, once seen as a viable substitute for gas-based generation, are also running below potential. More than 7,000 megawatts of installed coal power remain underutilized due to inadequate coal imports. To fill the gap and keep the national grid stable, Bangladesh has had to fall back on expensive furnace oil-based generation.