As Bangladesh power demand is increasing, Bangladesh’s power experts are calling government to import more power from neighbors including Nepal and Bhutan.

Bangladesh now imports 600 megawatts of power from India and is seeking to buy more from hydropower-rich Nepal and Bhutan as well. However, Nepal is currently itself importing over 300 MW power from India.

Given the current state of construction of hydropower, Nepal however will have surplus energy during the rain session from 2020. If things go as now, Nepal will have more than 600 MW surplus powers in 2020.

However, there is a problem of connectivity. With no regional greed, Nepal and Bangladesh have to rely on Indian grid. Maximum effort should be given on neighbours who use renewable energy sources, said M Tamim, a former energy adviser.

“We get all the renewable energy benefits without losing any land,” he said at a discussion in the capital's Lakeshore Hotel, pointing to falling prices of green energy in India.

According to Bangladesh leading paper Daily Star, the views was expressed in a program organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) on “Energy Security 2030: Challenges & Opportunities”.

Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, the energy adviser to the prime minister, said he had positive talks with Myanmar on bringing gas before the latter's elections in 2015.

He said he was hopeful of establishing energy cooperation with Myanmar, which is sitting on large reserves of gas.

The expert also said the government should allow the private sector to import power from India, breaking away from the public sector monopoly. Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh Chief Executive Officer Abrar A Anwar said Bangladesh would require about $15 billion for its energy sector.