Mitigating looming power crisis

The power load-shedding, a usual practice that power-sector people describe as 'load management', has returned as an impact of the ongoing war in the Middle East. As the crisis of fuel oils is intensifying with every passing day, the country's power sector is bracing for difficult days ahead. The bite of power outages is already there; the extent of load-shedding at around 12 noon on Sunday last was 607 megawatt (MW). The summer season when the demand for power goes up notably is a few days away. So, it is not that difficult to guess the extent of power crisis in the next weeks or months if the oil and natural gas supply situation does not improve.

In fact, the power sector has been under serious strains for long. Its problems are multifarious. The gas-based power plants can hardly run in their full capacity due to gas supply shortage. Now the oil-based power plants have started going out of stream because of short supply of diesel or furnace oil. Their power production has declined by half. The coal-based plants are producing around 4000 MW and the power imported from Indian plants now stands at around 1800MW. The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is troubled by another big problem involving liquidity. It owes around Tk 470 billion in unpaid bills to both state-owned and private power plants. The private power plants in particular have been pressing hard for payment of their dues.

Regrettably, the power sector has been a victim of deliberate neglect, ill-planning and corruption. During the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina between 2008 and 2024, the sector saw a notable rise in power generation -- in fact, the power generation capacity far exceeded the requirement. And, it was done deliberately to facilitate looting of state resources in the name of 'capacity payment' by ruling party cronies. And the then government had introduced a piece of legislation to ensure indemnity coverage for the plunderers of all types. Even power imports from across the border were not done cleanly. The power purchase agreement from Adani being a major scam, it had hit domestic and global media headlines. The ongoing crisis has again brought to the fore the issue of remaining largely dependent on imported fuel for power generation. It is pretty clear that successive governments have not done enough to explore offshore and onshore hydrocarbon. The same is true in the case of renewable energy. The last Awami League government had initiated some large solar power plants but those were designed to benefit some people unduly.

If the ongoing Middle East crisis persists, the availability of fuel oils will continue to be a problem. In that case, there is no alternative to power conservation. The government has already announced a few administrative measures to cut power consumption. The office hours of government offices and banks have been shortened. Similarly, shops and markets have been asked to pull down their shutters by 7pm. Side by side, the relevant authorities must take firm measures to stop widespread power pilferage taking place in most slums and non-Bengali camps, charging stations of battery-run rickshaws and unauthorized road-side shops. Together slums, battery-run rickshaws and foot-path shops, according to an unofficial estimate, consume more than 1000 MW across the country. Cutting down such pilferage with firm actions can help save legal power consumers from load-shedding. For longer term sustainability, it is important to allow the private sector to set up gas-based power plants in Bhola where sufficient volume of gas deposits has been discovered. Besides, competitive bids should be invited from genuine private entrepreneurs to set up large solar power plants at suitable sites within the shortest possible time. Then again, the Rooppur nuclear power plant though being built at a cost much higher than many other countries must start supplying power to the national greed as early as possible. All these steps will help reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels for power generation.