A well-established integrated energy grid in South Asia region can benefit all the nations in terms of energy security and sustainability.
However, a lack of political willingness and inadequate infrastructure are major obstacles to ensuring so.
This was observed during the 'Towards an integrated energy grid' session on the first day of the two-day '14th South Asia Economic Summit' hosted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) at a city hotel on Saturday.
Energy expert Dr M Tamim, a professor of petroleum and mineral resources engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), chaired the session.
Nepal Development Research Institute executive director Dr Shankar Shrestha, Afghan independent regional power integration expert Alias Wardak, geology professor Badrul Imam of Dhaka University, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung India deputy country director Richard Kaniewski, Hartmut Behrend of GIZ Bangladesh and World Bank senior energy specialist Mbuso Gwafila joined the discussion as panellists.
Prof Tamim said the absence of political willingness was a barrier to the establishment of an integrated energy grid, also citing other challenges like building huge infrastructure to this end.
Dr Shankar said fossil fuels accounted for about 80 per cent of primary energy production in South Asia, adding that GHG emissions from power generation were largest compared to other sectors.
"Regional cooperation and integration can help accelerate the diversification of electricity supply resources across South Asia while enabling a greater role for renewable energy resources," he mentioned.
An integrated energy grid gives benefits in terms of seasonality, energy mix, grid stabilisation and greater supply reliability, according to Dr Shankar.
Prof Imam said although there were discussions highlighting the importance of renewable energy across the world, coal production was on the rise indicating a long way to move out from fossil fuels.
Bangladesh, which lacked adequate source of renewable, could get connected with India where there were an abundance of renewable sources of energy, he added.
Sharing experiences of his home country Botswana, Mr Gwafila said the country was quite integrated with neighbouring South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia as well as other countries.
"Regional integration works. I have seen it working," he continued.
The South Asia region lacks an enabling atmosphere, including political framework, while people with technical knowledge have less participation in due positions, according to the energy specialist.
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