Country heading towards a deep energy crisis

The current severe crisis in the country’s energy sector is a reflection of policy failure. During the fallen government’s tenure, the energy sector was made dependent on imports instead of focusing on local gas exploration and production.

The country’s economy is under pressure due to expensive fuel imports. In many cases, even uninterrupted fuel imports could not be ensured due to the dollar crisis. Not only that, the energy sector was also a major conduit for irregularities and corruption for the partners in the ousted Hasina government.

When the interim government took office, one of the big promises was around economic reforms. As part of this, the government would adopt effective, albeit short-term, policy strategies for the energy sector. It was expected that this would help increase local gas production and supply. But in reality, the interim government has continued the trend of the previous government.

Energy experts fear that LNG imports could also be disrupted due to the various activities of the world’s superpowers, which will further exacerbate the gas crisis. However, much of the current uncertainty could have been avoided through short-term and effective planning.

But in this regard, no such initiative has been visible from the interim government. Moreover, this government has not paid attention to the construction of infrastructure that was needed to increase the supply of gas to the national grid.

The future elected government should prioritize the energy crisis. Otherwise, it will become a big challenge for the government. The emphasis must be on bringing the energy sector out of import dependence.

Therefore, there is no alternative to increasing gas production from domestic sources. As part of this, the government must take initiatives to accelerate the exploration of new gas fields on land and at sea.