Shining a light on our energy plans

It has been around two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine all but plunged the world into an energy crisis, a crisis from which developing economies such as Bangladesh have yet to recover. But while the state of affairs have almost certainly improved regarding fuel imports, there are still far too many unanswered questions when it comes to our nation’s overall energy security policies.

When it comes to operational efficiency, the good majority of our power plants still leave much to be desired, while transitioning away from fossil fuel-based power supplies has been slow to a crawl. Recently, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) suggested that our energy transition plans should incorporate short, medium, and long term strategies -- we cannot agree with this enough.

Biogas has been identified as the perfect source for Bangladesh in the short term, while payment of energy price in local currency, competitive tendering for power plants, and reduction in duty on solar products are also some short-term strategies the government should consider to bolster our energy security.

But, as always, the government needs to make preparations in pivoting to green energy. Renewable energy has been established as the future -- with the rising tide of climate change being exacerbated by traditional modes of energy generation, renewables present our best way out.

Bangladesh has always been dealt a bad hand when it comes to the effects of climate change, which is why it is all the more imperative for us to pivot towards renewable energy without delay, as this would also be in line with the prime minister’s master plan of gleaning 40% of our energy production from renewable sources.

Economic progress is powered by sensible and timely energy policies, and on that front we cannot afford to be left in the dark.