State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said the government will eventually have to regulate fuel prices in accordance with the global market.
In an audio message sent to the media on Thursday, he suggested everyone use oil and gas sparingly, which in turn will make the move less troublesome.
The state minister said: "For the past six-seven months, fuel prices have been on the rise in the global market. The (crude) oil now costs $171 per barrel, and it used to be $70-71.”
"From the start, we have been talking about adjusting fuel prices. Even after providing subsidies from our own pocket, the government has to adjust the price sooner or later,” he said
"Many countries around the world have tackled the rising fuel prices in various ways including adjusting their prices. For instance, for different types of fuels, India has a difference of around Tk35-Tk50/litre."
He continued: "Natural gas generates as much as 64% of our total electricity so our gas reserves will eventually deplete. It's not a big deal; the important thing is that we adjusted and recovered from the gas shortage.
"We closed the gap by importing gas from abroad. However, the spot market is now burdened due to the war as most of Europe's gas arrives from Russia."
Speaking on the ongoing power crisis, Nasrul Hamid said: "It is a temporary situation. We have plenty of power plants, but gas shortage has forced us to reduce production.”
"Our priority is supplying gas to fertilizer plants and other industries. We can overcome this situation if we become economical in using gas," he said.
Bangladesh is currently facing frequent power cuts since power generation has decreased by an average of 2,000MW per day.
Most of the gas-run power plants have to be closed, while private power plants are on the brink due to rising global oil prices.
The situation is bleaker outside the capital. The most affected areas are in Mymensingh, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Rajshahi, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, Noakhali, Feni and Chandpur.
Following the Russia-Ukraine war, power disruptions are common in countries that have been hit by the gas crisis and most are choosing proper load management.
Energy experts say people can be helped by a proper and planned load management of the current energy supply. It is the only way to deal with the current gas and power supply cuts as no other initiatives are available.
Gas prices in Europe and Asia surged more than 60% in the weeks due to the shutdown of a significant liquified natural gas facility in Texas.
Gas prices have soared since January of last year, jumping as high as 700% in Europe.
Germany says the gas deficit could trigger a Lehman Brothers-like collapse, as Europe's economic powerhouse faces the unprecedented prospect of businesses and consumers running out of power, Bloomberg reported.
The main Nord Stream pipeline that carries Russian gas to Germany is due to shut down on July 11 for ten days of maintenance, and there is a growing fear that Moscow may not reopen it.
According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), there was a maximum of 1,400MW of loadshedding at 9pm on Monday in different parts of the country.
Petrobangla officials have said the only remedy is meeting the demand when fuel price falls in the global market.