Impact of COVID-19 on the Power Sector of Bangladesh

Abstract

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is one of the deadliest health crises that has afflicted almost every sector of the economy. The power sector is no exception and is going through a terrible time amid pandemics. Energy is one of the most crucial enablers of the modern economy, and COVID-19 has a notable impact on it. This impact is reflected in various social, economic, environmental, technological, and energy-related changes. Since the pandemic is an ongoing phenomenon, data and information are scarce. Therefore, the study aims to examine the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on Bangladesh's power sector by utilizing the available information. This study revealed that annual electricity generation in Bangladesh dropped by 1.20% in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19. Additionally, the power-generating energy mix has changed dramatically during the shutdown. Here, the use of gas increased by 6.15%, whereas oil consumption decreased by 28.85% due to international trade disruptions. In contrast, coal consumption has grown by 144.38% over the preceding year. At the initial stage of the pandemic, Bangladesh has observed a 2.03% drop in power demand compared to the previous year's same month. This ongoing crisis has also altered people's lifestyles since they mostly stay at home and work from home. As a result, domestic power demand has significantly increased by 8.90%, whereas commercial and industrial power demand have decreased by 15.61% and 5.50%, respectively. Despite the devastation, the power sector faces new technical and economic challenges. Furthermore, this pandemic has slowed the Bangladesh government's progress toward achieving 100% electricity coverage by 2021. Given this, a power sector management plan is needed to tackle these ongoing challenges and threats. Thus, this study gives broad recommendations to the policymakers on how to deal with the current crisis, and it also provides ideas for future research in assessing the power supply and demand during an emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.