Energy in Bangladesh

Energy calculation method was changed in 2026 resulting in changing values. Energy mix of Bangladesh (in TWh):^[3]

Following independence in 1971, the country's energy was primarily derived from oil, gas, coal and hydropower in decreasing order of importance.^[3] People in rural areas were mostly dependent on dry leaves and woods for cooking and using kerosene lamp or flashlight at night.^[4] The country was energy poor with lack of energy affecting every part of the economy.^[5]

As the country suffered through mismanagement, corruption, and lack of a coherent energy policy, the country continued to be dependent upon expensive imported oil.^[6][7] This was somewhat alleviated as the countries abundant gas fields were surveyed, explored and drilled, which presented its own challenges.^[8][9]

The energy demand in Bangladesh is increasing rapidly with increase in GDP.^[10] However, initiatives taken to quickly raise capacity without public procurement process has led to rapid increase in both electricity cost and subsidies.^[11][12][13]

Dwindling gas reserves, a slow uptake in adopting solar and wind energy, volatility in price of the fossil fuel in global market presents contemporary challenges for the energy sector of the country.^[14][8][15] Slow construction, opaque contracts, and expensive initial investment is hampering new power generation projects such as Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.^[16][17]

The electricity sector in Bangladesh operates using a single national grid, managed by the state-owned Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), with an installed capacity of 25,700 MW as of June 2022. Bangladesh's energy sector is not up to the mark. However, per capita energy consumption in Bangladesh is considered higher than the production. Electricity was introduced to the country on 7 December 1901.

Electricity is the major source of power for most of the country's economic activities. Bangladesh's total installed electricity generation capacity (including captive power) is 27,840 MW, while the maximum production ever attained was 16,477 MW. It was 15,351 megawatts (MW) as of January 2017 and 20,000 megawatts in 2018.

The largest energy consumers in Bangladesh are industries and the residential sector, followed by the commercial and agricultural sectors.

Bangladesh will need an estimated 34,000 MW of power by 2030 to sustain its economic growth of over 7 percent.

Problems in Bangladesh's electric power sector include high system losses, delays in completion of new plants, low plant efficiency, erratic power supply, electricity theft, blackouts, and shortages of funds for power plant maintenance. Overall, the country's generation plants have been unable to meet system demand over the past decade.

On the 2nd of November, 2014, electricity was restored after a day-long nationwide blackout. A transmission line from India had failed, which "led to a cascade of failures throughout the national power grid," and criticism of "old grid infrastructure and poor management." However, in a recent root-cause analysis report the investigating team has clarified that the fault was actually due to internal lack of coordination and poor health of transmission and distribution infrastructure that caused the blackout.

On 4 October 2022, 70–80% of the country's 168 million residence were hit with blackouts and only 45% of residences were restored with power by nightfall. There was a shortage of natural gas because of the 2021–present global energy crisis where 77 natural gas power plants had insufficient fuel to meet demand. The electricity sector in Bangladesh is heavily reliant on natural gas. The government stopped buying spot price liquefied natural gas in June 2022; they were importing 30% of their LNG on the spot market this year down from 40% last year. They are still importing LNG on futures exchange markets. (Full article...)

According to the Bangladesh's Power Sector Master Plan 2016 (PSMP–2016), the country has the potential to generate a combined 3.6 GW of electricity from renewable energy sources.^[26] Another research has estimated that the potential from wind power alone stands at 20 GW.^[26]

The government of Bangladesh has approved the construction by private developers of 19 on-grid solar parks, with would have cumulative generation capacity of 1070 MW.^[27]

Bangladesh has planned to produce 10% of total power generation by 2020 from renewable energy sources like wind, waste, and solar energy. The country plans to increase its renewable energy share to 17% by 2041 under its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% until 2030.^[28]

The country's prospect of geothermal energy extraction has also been discussed by researchers.^[29] Studies carried out by geologists suggested geothermal resources in northwest and southeast region.^[30][31]

• Electricity sector in Bangladesh
• Energy law
• List of oil and gas companies of Bangladesh