Moulding people’s behaviour for an energy-conscious Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces another summer of surging power demand, exacerbated this year as the holy month of Ramadan coincides with summer and requirements for irrigation. In the face of this challenge, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources’ (MPEMR) efforts to enforce energy efficiency among consumers to keep a lid on the demand growth appear short-sighted.  

The ministry’s recent circular restricts private and public sectors to set the temperature of air conditioners (ACs) below 25°C. Media reports suggest that the government may even disconnect electricity connections for those running ACs at lower temperatures and opt for load shedding if power distribution utilities observe excessive load in an area. Enforcement of such measures will be difficult. 

In a developing economy like Bangladesh, where disposable incomes and aspirations are growing, consumer awareness about energy efficiency is a key lever to change behaviour. Further, on the supply side, ensuring the availability of high-quality appliances and displaying energy efficiency standards on such items is critical. Finally, given the high upfront costs of switching to efficient appliances, the government may also want to look at financial incentives to accelerate the change.   

Why Bangladeshi consumers need to be more energy efficient 

Bangladesh’s per capita income increased by 9.67 folds between 1990 and 2024, resulting in high disposable incomes. Many can now afford ACs and purchase multiple fans to face the summer.  

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’s (IEEFA) ballpark estimates, based on the country’s daily power sector data, suggest that additional cooling demand during the summer is somewhere between 4,000 megawatts (MW) and 5,000MW.  

There was a roughly 7,000MW difference between the summer peak demand in 2024 and the winter peak demand during November 2024-February 2025. The difference between peak summer and winter is attributable to the demand for cooling and irrigation. The power demand for irrigation is around 3,000MW. 

As Ramadan begins in March, people will have more gatherings and activities at home during the evening, adding to the demand for summer cooling. This would require the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to generate more power, even as it grapples with weak financial conditions and the ongoing dollar crisis.    

Tough to limit AC temperatures 

Studies substantiate that running ACs one degree higher can save up to 6% of energy, which Bangladesh should pursue to reduce energy wastage.  

However, expecting consumer behaviour to change overnight through strict regulations may turn out to be futile. While monitoring temperatures in public institutions may be possible, doing so for residential users will add to monitoring costs and not deliver the intended results. Moreover, as many people use efficient ACs, their energy consumption, even at 23° C, will be less than that of inefficient ones. 

Further, power demand will likely peak during the Ramadan prayer times between 8pm and 9:30pm throughout the country, making the proposition to check sudden spikes in power demand in different areas unviable.   

Information and behavioural change to induce energy conservation 

There are examples where people tend to be wasteful of resources. Despite buying efficient air conditioners to save energy, people still set the temperature at 20°C as they may lack proper understanding of energy efficiency.  

Likewise, people can select from fans available in the market, ranging from 35 watts to 120 watts. Without any precise information and technical knowledge, consumers usually choose a fan with a higher wattage to save upfront.  

Consumers with enough disposable income and entrenched behaviour may pay monthly bills without considering the impact on the nation’s energy crisis. For all practical purposes, most people are unaware of how they get electricity at home. For example, less than 40% of the primary energy used in power generation reaches the end consumers, considering the average efficiency (42.86%) of the power plants and the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses (10.06%).  

Therefore, the attempt to pursue energy conservation and efficiency may go off-track without knowledge of how to save energy and awareness campaigns to change consumer behaviour.  

Designing a long-term strategy for developing energy consciousness 

Bangladesh needs to devise a long-term strategy for energy efficiency, which should incorporate the need to enhance people’s awareness and capacity to make informed decisions to purchase efficient appliances. The strategy should consider allocating sufficient funding to the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) to help it organise awareness-raising events consistently for a longer period to transform Bangladesh into an energy-conscious country. Various developed countries design and implement awareness-raising measures for stakeholders in different strata of society.   

Further, energy efficiency standards and labelling, as an instrument, will help consumers purchase energy-saving appliances. SREDA should accelerate fixing the minimum energy performance standards for different appliances. It may assess and recommend the need for any financial incentive to help reduce the high upfront cost and increase adoption rates of energy-efficient appliances in the country.  

Finally, the strategy should emphasise the need to monitor the availability of high-quality appliances in the market.  

While the installed power generation capacity in 2022 signalled the country’s sufficient supply, policymakers struggled to meet demand consistently shortly afterwards. Although the government’s focus on enhancing energy conservation is commendable, for a lasting impact on the country’s power sector, it must consider a long-term strategy to mould people’s behaviour and make them energy conscious.  

This article was first published in The Daily Star.