Plea for an urgent patriotic plan to overcome energy crisis

Speakers at the roundtable on Strategic Autonomy - Securing Energy in a Volatile World held at the Banani Club on Sunday 26 April 2026.

Speakers at a roundtable on Sunday evening made a fervent plea for an urgent plan to overcome the present energy crisis caused by the Iran War and decades of corruption in the sector. 

Not only power generation should be optimum in the fossil-fuel-based power plants, but also by quickly ensuring the installation of solar power plants thru creating incentives for investment in the sector. 

They also called for energy auditing at the user level that will prevent up to 20 percent of power wasted due to neglect and inefficient use, they said.

The roundtable on “Strategic Autonomy: Securing Energy in a Volatile World” organised by the Business Paradigm Forum at the Banani Club and addressed by energy experts, former secretaries to the government, business executives and journalists was told patriotism and corruption-free governance were urgently needed to plan and execute a sovereign energy policy.

They lamented how due to corruption a nearly energy self-reliant Bangladesh now turned nearly 80 percent imports. While power loadshedding was unbearable in the rural areas, the state was still paying capacity charges to idle quick Rental Power Plants set up at the initiative of the previous AL government to create an oligarchic support base.    

Tavira Hasan said that garment production was suffering, power generation capacity has fallen alarmingly. Abid Hossain, Coca-Cola Bangladesh said, we don't have policy sovereignty, 

Shibly said, we need a big plan to run the industries we have set up. We don't have backup plan that Chinese have. Instead of running after shining things our focus should be on whether we can do business.

Prof. Rustam Ali, Moulana Bhasani Science and technology University. We had opportunity to be self-reliant or even surplus in energy. But we did not pay attention and became import dependent.

We have to come to a stable situation. We are facing a big famine, he said. 

Former secretary to the government Mr. Aladdin said, we successfully failed in our energy policy. Underlining the pressure created by the Iran War and the need to overcome it he called for investing in renewable energy. In the Kaptai Lake 1000mw floating solar possible, he said adding, turning diesel-run Irrigation pumps into solar will save diesel and make power available also for other uses. He called for a social movement for solar energy.  

Former secretary for energy and mineral resources ATM Mostafa Kamal said policy and decision makers should not care about who might mind our decisions and plan for the future. 

Japan is also import dependent but they manage well. The said that the success rate in exploration was 3:1 in Bangladesh as against India’s 12:1. Our cost per well 70-80 crore, foreign cos cost 700 to 800 crore and even more. We haven't done enough exploration although success rate of 6:1 is considered commercially viable. 

Independent consultant Fariduddin said, we lack planning. Gas production is coming down and down for decades. Instead of trying to improve the situation we have become import dependent. Please plan how to overcome. Why we keep on paying capacity charge for quick rental plants. We need refineries. We don't tell facts, he lamented. 

Sakib Ali, former Ambassador, integrity needed to take a position and correct wrongs in the energy sector.

Major Mizan told the meeting geothermal exploration started in Narsingdi. Its potential is huge. We are suffering from policies of subversion pursued in the recent past. We can redistribute working hours and reduce wastage of electricity. 

Sheikh Mohammad Sharifuddin said, strategic autonomy is needed for energy security. For this we need patriotism and a corruption-free government.

Prof. Muniruzzamam of the Moulana Bhasani University of Science and technology said, we need autonomous strategy and planning. 

Editor of GreenWatch Dhaka online daily Mostafa Kamal Majumder called for investing in Solar energy for quickly increase the power generation capacity in the country, because solar panels and batteries have halved in price and start generating power just after installation. He said exploration and development of more gas fields will take time. Quoting the BIDS Director General Dr. Enamul Huq he told the meeting one megawatt solar power plant can be installed in each of the 68,000 villages for quick power supply from the renewable energy. As the situation is dire, budget allocation to the energy sector should be raised from present 2.9 percent, he said. 

The roundtable was also addressed by Major Mohsinul Karim, Nurul Alam, and Hafizur Rahman Hafiz among others. 

Engineer Shahidul Islam called for energy audit in factories to reduce power wastage by 15 to 20 percent.