April 9, 2026
Study Report
People's Energy Plan 2050
Data Series: Electricity Consumption In the Rural Areas of Bangladesh
Despite achieving universal electricity access on paper, a neoliberal energy policy favouring centralised fossil fuels and corporate profits has created a dysfunctional, debt-burdened system plagued by overcapacity, load shedding, and stark regional inequalities. The co-opted rural electrification mandate has failed to spur genuine rural economic development and instead worsens energy poverty, especially in climate-vulnerable areas. Overcoming these challenges requires a radical, just transition to energy sovereignty via decentralised, 100% renewable energy generation.
Key Findings
Residential Dominance: Total electricity consumption in the BREB area surged over 12-fold from 2001–02 to 2024–25. However, this growth is driven primarily by the residential sector (over 61% of total demand), indicating that power is used primarily for basic subsistence rather than for industrial and commercial production.
Industrial Capture: Dhaka Division is consuming a disproportionate 40 percent of total BREB energy. It is due to the classification of export-oriented industrial hubs under the PBS system, thereby co-opting the rural grid to serve an industrial agenda rather than the dispersed village economies.
Marginalised Periphery: Divisions like Barishal and Rangpur remain energy backwaters. Barishal accounts for only about 3 percent of the total BREB demand, showing minimal industrial growth. This disparity highlights chronic regional underinvestment, leaving vulnerable regions with limited capacity.
Stagnant Agricultural Consumption: The agricultural sector, vital for food security, has seen its consumption grow by only 395 percent compared to the overall system's 1,203 percent growth since 2001. Energy policy has failed to promote sustainable, energy-independent farming, leaving food production highly vulnerable to grid instability and global volatility.
Data Refinements: Since 2021–22, BREB has disaggregated data for the Transport, Construction, and Health & Education sectors. The emergence of the Transport sector, primarily driven by electric three-wheelers, represents a significant new, but often unmanaged, burden on the rural grid.
Centre-Periphery Injustice: The severe divisional disparity reflects a fundamental failure of national energy planning to implement equitable resource distribution. The remote divisions, which are most exposed to climate shocks, possess the lowest consumption levels, cementing a cycle of poverty and vulnerability.
Recommendations
Cancel Fossil Fuel Master Plans: Immediately revoke the Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP) and the Energy and Power Sector Master Plan (EPSMP) as they lock the nation into expensive, unsustainable fossil-fuel dependence.
Mandate High RE Targets: Establish a mandatory renewable energy generation target of 30 percent by 2030 and 40 percent by 2040 in the actual generation mix.
Decentralise Rural Distribution: Restructure the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) into independent Divisional Distribution Companies (Discoms) to facilitate regional planning and the integration of local renewable resources.
Promote Regional Industrialisation: Implement policies to relocate industrial zones away from the congested Dhaka-Chattogram corridor to the less-developed Khulna, Barishal, Rajshahi, and Rangpur Divisions, thereby reducing economic disparities across divisions.
Stop Capacity Charge Payments: Immediately cease paying capacity charges for inefficient, underutilised fossil-fuel Independent Power Producers (IPPs), thereby halting the financial drain on the national economy.
Incentivise Rooftop Revolution: Provide direct capital subsidies and technical support for individual rooftop solar, agrivoltaics, and floatovoltaics to enable rural households to transition from consumers to energy prosumers.
Tax Fossil Fuels & Exempt Renewables: Impose a Green Tax (5–10 percent) on high-emitting fossil fuels and polluting factories to finance a Just Transition Fund (JTF), and simultaneously exempt all import duties, AIT, and VAT for renewable energy accessories.
Integrate Solar Irrigation Pumps: Fast-track the grid integration of Solar Irrigation Pumps (SIP) under the Net Energy Metering (NEM) policy and guidelines to transform irrigation from a grid burden into a source of income and local power generation for farmers.
Land Sovereignty for Renewables: Ensure that land for solar parks is leased with incremental annual fees rather than purchased outright, thereby ensuring that local landowners become shareholders in the power plants.
Technology Transfer: Collaborate with international partners to facilitate the transfer of smart grid, renewable energy and energy storage technologies without restrictive intellectual property barriers.
Expected Citation: Mehedi, H., & Arman, A.B. (2026). Electricity Consumption In the Rural Areas of Bangladesh. Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN): April 2026.