Power crisis eased earlier than expected, State Minister Nasrul tells parliament

Bangladesh suffered intense power cuts due to a lack of gas and coal for electricity production

The recent power crisis has eased earlier than the government expected, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said

The government ensured almost uninterrupted power supply a week after the intense electricity crisis hit Bangladesh due to a lack of gas and coal, although the authorities thought it would take at least 15 days for the situation to improve, he said in parliament on Tuesday.

“Some days ago, unhindered power supply was hampered heavily. We had thought we would be able to solve the problem within 15-20 days, but because of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s timely and farsighted decisions and with the help of all, we ensured almost uninterrupted supply after a week.”

He said the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war heavily affected the energy sector of every country, whose economy struggled to ensure fuel at a reasonable cost. “Prices of commodities rose along with the cost for fuel.”

Nasrul thanked Hasina for taking steps to tackle the challenges in ensuring uninterrupted power supply.

The government took some decisions, keeping in mind the 4th industrial revolution, but maintaining a standard power management system has become a challenge, the state minister said.

Besides ensuring reliability, affordability and financing, technology has become a challenge in producing power, he said.

Nasrul said the government is thinking about meeting 10 percent of the demand for electricity from renewable sources, for which it signed a deal with Nepal to bring 700 MW hydropower.