Decades of Policy Failures Drive Bangladesh's Power Crisis

Bangladesh's power crisis has reached an all-time high, with the country experiencing a shortage of over 3,500 megawatts in a single day. According to government reports and parliamentary disclosures, this is not due to a lack of power generation capacity, but rather decades of policy failures, costly contracts, underinvestment, and missed opportunities.

The country has spent $17.6 billion importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) between 2018 and 2025, which is roughly one and a half times its entire annual domestic gas output. Meanwhile, its own onshore discovery at Bhola North remains stranded due to the lack of a single pipeline.

The Adani Godda contract, signed in 2017 without public disclosure of its terms, has resulted in Bangladesh paying Tk14.02 per unit for power imported from a plant in Jharkhand, while the same power was available on India's power exchange that year for Tk7.83 - a 79% premium.

Bangladesh built power plants first and transmission lines second, resulting in idle capacity of 7,700 to 9,500 megawatts, which is costing the country roughly $1 billion per year in carrying costs alone. The Rooppur nuclear plant, for example, is generating power at Tk10 per unit - half the cost of oil-fired plants still running to meet Dhaka's demand - but its transmission line has not been finished.