Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged citizens to judiciously use power as global prices rise, which in turn have pushed up the country’s import bill. Chairing the first meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) this financial year, Hasina said that if all concerned can pursue austerity, the country will benefit, the Daily Star reported.

Amid global economic uncertainty, Dhaka has already imposed restrictions on power consumption, with scheduled blackouts of up to two hours daily. Shops are also required to shutdown after 8 pm. However, power cuts have extended to four hours in many parts of the country, leading to fear that the situation could worsen in the coming weeks.

According to another report published by the same newspaper, Bangladesh is generating 12,000-13,000MW electricity a day against a demand of 14,000-14,500MW.

Hit by the Russia-Ukraine war, global food and energy prices have surged.

“High prices and a supply crunch of fuel in the international market due to the war have put us in trouble like all other countries. In this situation, we apologise sincerely for your temporary inconvenience,” Bangladesh’s State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said on his Facebook page earlier this month.

According to a World Bank blog, the Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted global energy markets, generating the biggest surge in crude-oil prices since the 1970s.

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