Heatwaves deepen country’s power crisis

Over the last few years, whenever summer rolls around, we get hit by severe heatwaves. It’s almost impossible to step outside, and even sitting indoors with the fan or AC on doesn’t give much relief. Now, imagine the power going out right in the middle of this sweltering heat. I think you’ll agree with me that this suffocating situation has become a regular part of all our lives. When we talk about climate change, we usually think of floods, cyclones, or rising sea levels. But right now, its most silent and severe blow is landing squarely on our power sector. As a conscious citizen and observer, when I look closely at the issue, a clear equation stands out to me: severe heatwaves lead to a demand spike, which ultimately results in power shortages or load shedding.

To put it simply, when the weather is normal, our electricity demand stays within a certain, predictable limit. But when severe heatwaves hit the country in April, May, or June, the situation changes in the blink of an eye. To escape the heat, ACs, fans, and coolers in every city home, office, and shop start running at full capacity. It’s not just the cities; electricity use in villages has gone up significantly too. Another major factor is our agriculture. To save their crops from the intense heat, farmers have to keep their irrigation pumps running non-stop. All these things combined create a massive, sudden pressure on the national grid. A country that usually runs perfectly fine on 10 to 11 thousand megawatts suddenly needs 16 to 17 thousand megawatts or even more. The real problem is whether we have the instant readiness to meet this sudden extra demand.

Bangladesh has made incredible progress in power generation over the last decade. Reaching the milestone of 100% electrification is definitely a big achievement for us, and on paper, our power generation capacity is now well over 25,000 megawatts. Yet, we still face load shedding during the summer. The root of the problem turns out to be our fuel dependency. Our power plants mostly run on gas, coal, or furnace oil, but our local gas reserves are slowly running out. As a result, we have to heavily rely on imported LNG and coal. Whenever fuel prices spike in the global market or there’s a dollar crisis at home, importing the necessary fuel gets disrupted. Without enough fuel, many large power plants simply can’t run at full capacity. So, electricity demand shoots up because of the heatwave, and production drops due to a lack of fuel. That huge gap in the middle is what causes our load shedding.

This crisis goes far beyond just sitting in the dark; it directly impacts our economy and daily lives. Children and the elderly suffer the most when there’s no power during extreme heat, making health risks like heatstroke and dehydration very real threats. Students can’t study properly, and because people can’t sleep peacefully at night, their productivity at work drops the next day. I’ve also seen how our garment factories and other manufacturing sectors face massive hurdles due to power shortages. Trying to keep production going using backup generators increases costs heavily, hurting our ability to compete in the global market. Furthermore, when agricultural irrigation gets disrupted, crop production is threatened, having a direct and dangerous impact on our food security.

The adverse effects of climate change are only going to increase, with heatwaves becoming longer and harsher in the coming years. To be honest, our preparation to handle this future shock is still not nearly enough. However, if we start taking some specific steps today, we can definitely overcome this crisis. First, we need a renewable energy revolution. The lion’s share of our electricity still comes from fossil fuels, and we need a massive shift here. Solar energy can be our biggest weapon. Even though we lack large empty lands, we need to bring every factory roof, government building roof, and unused patch of land under solar panels. If we can power all agricultural irrigation pumps entirely with solar energy, it will take a huge load off the national grid.

Second, just generating power isn’t enough; we need to modernize our grid system to distribute it properly. When a demand spike hits suddenly, old transmission lines often trip or break down. With a modern, smart grid system, we can use technology to predict where and how much power is needed ahead of time, keeping the supply smooth and stable. Third, we need fuel diversity and regional cooperation. We can’t rely on just one or two types of fuel anymore. Nepal and Bhutan have massive potential for hydropower, and we should put much more focus on importing this clean, eco-friendly electricity through long-term diplomatic agreements. Finally, as citizens, we must focus on energy conservation. We can easily save electricity by turning off lights and ACs when we don’t need them. When designing new buildings, architects and engineers need to ensure that more natural light and air can enter, and we need to strongly encourage people to use energy-efficient appliances.

Climate change isn’t a story about the distant future anymore; it’s our toughest reality right now. These intense heatwaves and power crises are a massive wake-up call for all of us. We are a resilient nation and have successfully faced many massive natural disasters in the past. Overcoming this challenge in the power sector is not impossible for us either. But to do it, we need proper long-term planning, massive investments in renewable energy, and transparent, corruption-free execution. The kind of Bangladesh we leave for the next generation depends entirely on the decisions we make today. If we want to end the days of sitting in the dark sweating, we have to start walking towards sustainable energy right now. If we don’t prepare while we still have time, neither our economy nor our daily lives will be spared from nature’s wrath.

Md Shihab Uddin

Volunteer, UNICEF Bangladesh

The author is an independent researcher and a student of Folklore and Social Development Studies at the University of Rajshahi.He may be contacted at shihab.fsds@gmail.com