Bangladesh cuts office hours, turns off wedding lights to save energy

Bangladesh cut office and shop hours and banned decorative lighting at weddings starting on Friday as it seeks to conserve energy stocks after global price hikes due to the Middle East war.

Bangladesh imports 95 per cent of its oil and gas needs, mostly from the Middle East and said that, while there are adequate stocks of petrol and diesel, it hopes to mitigate the effects of "unsecured" supply lines.

About 60 per cent of its electricity is generated using imported gas, while diesel is primarily used for farming in the region.

Dhaka ordered all government, private offices and banks to shut an hour earlier each day starting on Friday until further notice.

"The fuel supply line is unsecured... both government and private offices will run from 9 AM to 4 PM, while banks will remain open from 9 AM to 3 PM," top government secretary Nasimul Gani told reporters at a news briefing late on Thursday.

Shopping centres, which normally stay open late, will now shut by 6 pm, although stores selling food supplies are expected to keep their usual hours.

Decorative lighting, which was initially banned at malls, has now been extended to include weddings.

Weddings in Bangladesh are celebrations that entertain hundreds of guests at brightly decorated venues and can often co-opt large parts of a neighbourhood.

The government has also asked departments to refrain from purchasing vehicles and computers and to limit money being spent on hospitality costs for work events.

Foreign training missions for government officials have also been suspended, while domestic training will be cut by half.

The measures will reduce at least 30 per cent of total fuel consumption, officials estimated.

Schools and colleges could also see schedule changes as the government considers purchasing electric buses for student transport.

Bangladesh has said it is seeking loans of around $2 billion from multilateral donors to tackle energy worries.

Apart from the latest measures, the government has also set limits on fuel purchases, halted production at most fertiliser factories and deployed police to patrol filling stations that have recently been packed with motorists.

The government conducted around 5,000 raids and confiscated about 400,000 litres of illegally acquired fuel between March 3 and April 1, a spokesperson for the Fuel and Energy Division said.

Thai PM blames stockpilers for fuel shortage

Separately, Thailand's prime minister slammed oil traders for "excessive profiteering," blaming those stockpiling fuel or smuggling it abroad for shortages that have driven prices steadily higher.

"Authorities have found cases of fuel stockpiling and smuggling for sale in neighbouring countries," Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, adding the problem had cost the government 50 billion baht ($1.4 billion).

"This action (smuggling and stockpiling) amounts to excessive profiteering from rising oil prices during the global energy crisis," he said, calling it "a major factor behind the nationwide fuel shortages seen in recent weeks."

Evidence of hoarding and profiteering among large and medium-sized oil traders had been found on land and at sea, he said.

Anutin said some seaborne shipments had been deliberately delayed so fuel would not arrive on schedule, allowing sellers to wait for retail price increases. Other shipments had been diverted for stockpiling and were thought to be destined for neighbouring countries.

Agence France-Presse