Summary
Power generation in Bangladesh is primarily from natural gas but not from coal due to enriched natural gas reserves in the eastern part of the nation. Coal deposits seem to be poor, and coal-fired plants must be relied on imported coal. From both technical and economical perspectives, to accelerate exploration and development of gas reserves in both onshore and offshore basins sounds more reasonable. Gas-fired power plants need gas for powering.
Analysis
Electricity shortage in Bangladesh has heavily influenced the economic growth. I had two trips to Dhaka recently and every time I experienced a few hours of darkness at the hotel. Fortunately this hotel has prepared a mini-power generator which can provide electricity at an emergency case.

Power generation in Bangladesh is primarily from gas-fired power plants. One exceptional coal-fired plant, to my knowledge, is the Barapukuria Power Plant in the northwest corner of the country, which was jointly constructed and operated by Chinese CMC (China Machinery Import and Export Company). Coal production in this country is very low, and in-situ power plant is limited. Domestic natural gas reserves have been believed to be adequate for both residential and industrial uses. Until recently, gas crisis in the capital city Dhaka has changed the story. Natural gas production starts declining, and gas shortage becomes an issue. Both government and congress realized the imperative needs of gas and coal for power, thus, at the very beginning of the new year, governmental delegations from Bangladesh started road shows in London and Singapore, to promote energy demands and investment opportunities.

From a technical perspective, Bangladesh shall be able to self-support with its natural gas reserves from offshore to onshore basins as geologists believe. However, lengthy administrative processing and politics have slowed the exploration and development of natural resources in the country. Even worse, some oil companies did not relinquish acreage without completing working obligation. No new reserves have been booked, and no new production was brought on stream. Thus people have to pay the price to suffer power shortage. It is reasonably believed to accelerate natural gas exploration to meet the demands of gas-fired plants seems to be more efficient than to use imported coal for coal-fired plants