Bangladesh Energy Crisis: CPD Calls for Urgent Action to Address Structural Shortfalls

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has urged the Bangladesh government to take immediate measures to address the country's growing energy crisis. According to CPD, the crisis is both immediate and structural, requiring a combination of short-term, medium-term, and long-term solutions.

For immediate action, the CPD recommends optimising LNG procurement to reduce exposure to international price volatility, introducing pricing and regulatory reforms, expanding social protection for vulnerable people, and reviewing existing policies on private investment in the energy sector.

In the medium term, the CPD suggests expanding LNG terminal and storage facilities, strengthening transmission and distribution networks through targeted investment, adopting time-bound policies to diversify the energy mix, and scaling up renewable energy through proactive policy frameworks.

The CPD also warns that Bangladesh's heavy dependence on fossil fuels is unsustainable, with natural gas, coal, and furnace oil accounting for over 84% of electricity generation capacity. The country faces a structural gas supply shortfall of around 1,200-1,400 million cubic feet per day, and domestic gas reserves could approach depletion by 2031 at the current rate of consumption.