Published: 12:33 AM, 31 August 2026
Political Mudslinging Can Wait, But Electricity in Disarray Warrants Faster Action
Jamal Uddin Sarker
Bangladesh is once again facing a problem that ordinary citizens know all too well: the growing uncertainty over electricity. While political leaders trade accusations, hold press conferences and engage in increasingly bitter exchanges, households and businesses are confronting a more immediate question—when will the lights stay on?
Political disagreements are a normal part of democracy. Governments and opposition parties have every right to criticize one another, defend their records and debate national priorities. But there is a time for political mudslinging and a time for urgent national action. When electricity supplies become unreliable, the debate should move quickly from blame to solutions.
For millions of Bangladeshis, electricity is no longer a luxury. It is an essential part of daily life. Students need power to study, hospitals need it to operate medical equipment, factories require it to maintain production, shops depend on it to conduct business, and households need it for basic activities such as cooking, communication, refrigeration and water supply.
An electricity crisis therefore affects much more than whether a fan or air conditioner can operate. It can disrupt education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and the broader economy.
The problem becomes particularly severe during periods of extreme heat. Bangladesh's hot and humid climate makes electricity demand rise sharply as people depend more heavily on fans, cooling systems and refrigeration. When demand increases but supply cannot keep pace, power cuts can quickly become a source of widespread public frustration.
For a family living in a crowded urban neighbourhood, a prolonged power outage during a hot night can mean hours of discomfort and sleeplessness. For a small business, repeated interruptions can mean lost customers and damaged equipment. For a garment factory, a sudden shutdown can disrupt production schedules and threaten delivery commitments. For farmers and rural households, unreliable electricity can interfere with irrigation and other essential activities.
The economic consequences can be substantial.
Bangladesh's industrial sector has become increasingly dependent on reliable electricity. The country's garment industry, manufacturing facilities, small and medium-sized enterprises and export-oriented businesses all require predictable power supplies. Even short interruptions can reduce productivity when machines have to be restarted or production lines temporarily stopped.
Businesses can attempt to compensate by using diesel generators or other backup systems, but that comes at a cost. Higher fuel expenses increase production costs, while smaller businesses may not have the financial capacity to maintain reliable backup power. Ultimately, such costs can be passed on to consumers or weaken the competitiveness of Bangladeshi companies.
The electricity question is therefore closely connected with employment, investment and economic growth.
Yet the public debate too often becomes trapped in political confrontation. One side blames the previous government. Another blames the current administration. Political parties accuse one another of mismanagement, corruption, poor planning or unrealistic promises. Such allegations may deserve investigation where evidence exists, but they do little to cool an overheated room or restart a machine in a factory.
Accountability matters, but accountability should not become an excuse for inaction.
Bangladesh needs a short-term emergency response as well as a long-term electricity strategy. In the immediate term, authorities should identify areas suffering from the most severe shortages and ensure that available electricity is distributed as efficiently and fairly as possible. Critical facilities such as hospitals, emergency services, water-supply systems and other essential infrastructure should receive priority. At the same time, consumers deserve clear information. If power shortages are unavoidable, authorities should communicate schedules and explain the reasons. Unexpected and prolonged outages create more frustration than transparent, predictable load management. Citizens may tolerate difficulties more readily when they know what to expect.
The longer-term challenge is more complicated.
Bangladesh needs to strengthen electricity generation, transmission and distribution while reducing inefficiencies throughout the system. Producing electricity is only one part of the problem. The power must also reach consumers through a reliable transmission and distribution network.
Investment decisions should therefore consider the entire electricity chain. New generation capacity is of limited value if transmission bottlenecks prevent power from reaching areas where it is needed. Likewise, expanding the distribution network without addressing systemic losses will not provide a lasting solution.
Bangladesh also needs a more diversified energy strategy. Dependence on a limited number of fuel sources can make electricity generation vulnerable to international price shocks, supply disruptions and foreign-exchange pressures. A stronger mix of domestic resources, renewable energy and efficiently managed imported fuels could improve resilience.
Solar power deserves particular attention. Bangladesh receives substantial sunlight for much of the year, and rooftop solar systems could play a greater role in reducing pressure on the national grid. Solar energy cannot solve every electricity problem, particularly during periods of peak evening demand, but combined with storage technology and better grid management, it can become an increasingly important part of the national energy mix.
Energy efficiency should also be treated as a national priority. The cheapest unit of electricity is often the unit that does not need to be generated. More efficient appliances, industrial machinery, buildings and public facilities could reduce unnecessary demand. Government offices, shopping centres and large commercial establishments can lead by example through responsible energy consumption.
There is also a need for greater transparency in the energy sector. Large power projects involve enormous public resources. Citizens have the right to know how major contracts are awarded, how costs are determined and whether projects are delivering value for money. Independent scrutiny can help prevent waste and strengthen public confidence.
But transparency should not mean endless delay. Bangladesh needs both careful evaluation and timely decisions.
The country is at an important stage of its economic development. Reliable electricity is fundamental to achieving higher productivity, attracting investment and improving living standards. Digital services, modern agriculture, industrial automation and new technologies all depend on dependable power.
The government and political parties should therefore consider electricity security a national issue rather than merely another battlefield for political competition.
There will always be elections, political arguments and competing claims about who is responsible for what. Those debates are unavoidable in a democracy. But the electricity crisis cannot wait for political consensus on every issue.
Political mudslinging can wait.
A student preparing for an examination cannot wait. A patient in a hospital cannot wait. A factory worker whose job depends on production cannot wait. A shopkeeper struggling to keep a business alive cannot wait. A family trying to endure a sweltering night cannot wait.
Jamal Uddin Sarker is a
computer science engineer
and a columnist.
