Bangladesh’s electricity demand rises 7% during protests despite economic disruptions
Despite nationwide protests disrupting economic activities, Bangladesh’s electricity demand grew 7% over three weeks, reaching an average of 316 million kWh per day. This increase, driven mainly by household air-conditioning use amid extreme heat, occurred even as most industrial and commercial activities came to a halt.
The rise in residential power consumption highlights a shift in Bangladesh’s energy landscape, where household demand now surpasses industrial use. This trend has pushed Bangladesh to boost imports of thermal coal, which rose 26.6% in the first seven months of the year, while coal-fired power generation nearly tripled. Meanwhile, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) grew by only 2.6% as coal increasingly replaced natural gas in power generation.