Experts at a dialogue on energy sector yesterday said though the country's power generation and supply capacity increased remarkably over the last nine years, its per capita electricity consumption is still the lowest in South Asia and among the developing countries, reports UNB.

They stressed the need for the diversification of energy sources to reduce the use of gas as its reserves are depleting fast. Policy Research Institute (PRI) in collaboration with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) arranged the dialogue titled 'Determining Bangladesh's energy infrastructure Needs for Today and Tomorrow' at a city hotel. Presenting the keynote paper at the programme, PRI executive director Dr Ahsan Mansur said Bangladesh is on the right track to ensure the electricity for cent percent households as the government is planning to increase generation capacity to 22,000MW by FY21.

"However, the major challenges still remain. Despite the impressive growth in power supply, Bangladesh's per capita electricity consumption remains one of the lowest in South Asia and among the developing countries," he said.

The energy expert said the country's gas reserves are alarmingly low and rapidly depleting as it relies on gas for over two-thirds of power generation.

He said though the liquefied natural gas (LNG) import has just started but, it is very costly. Under the circumstances, he said, much more diversifications of energy sources are crucial to reduce the dependence on gas.

The PRI execute director said the government can import power apart from setting up more coal-based, nuclear and hydro power plants and promoting the renewable energy.

Dr Mansur viewed the average tariff charge by the Bangladesh Power Development Board is still significantly low below the average production cost, leading to higher government subsidy. "Low electricity tariff rates are also impacting negatively on energy efficiency investments."

Buet Prof and energy expert Dr Mohammad Tamim, said power demand is growing highly in residential sector while it is very low in the industry sector. "So, our policymakers should make projection considering such growth rates."

He said Bangladesh's energy sector is facing two major challenges-ensuring affordable and reliable supply of primary energy and financing for different projects.

"According to our government's plan, around 90 percent of our energy will be imported by 2030. So, we should also think what will be its impact," the Buet professor said.