The use of rental power plants by the Bangladeshi government is understandable, but it is necessary for those in power to be more farsighted regarding our future energy security.
As things currently stand, a significant portion of the energy generated in Bangladesh comes from rental power plants. Many of these power plants produce energy using furnace oil or diesel, both of which are heavily subsidised by the Power Development Board.
As a result, the government spends a huge amount of its resources on this short term solution to the country's on-going power crisis. These resources would be much better spent on a long term sustainable energy plan that could meet the nation's growing energy requirements.
The government has justified its use of rental power plants by saying it was necessary to maintain GDP growth, and we agree that decreasing utilisation of such plants would most likely have some effect on the GDP.
The disagreement we have with the government is in its continuous usage of simple stopgap measures that are not sustainable in the long run. They are just creating further challenges for future generations with regard to energy security.
It is time for the nation to take a holistic approach to this growing problem before it develops into a real issue. The government needs to think outside of just the short term and think about how to better utilise its resources in order to benefit the general public in the long run, without quelling industrial growth.