Heavy fuel oil, also called bunker fuel, is the South Asian nation’s second largest source of power after natural gas and accounts for a quarter of its electricity output.
Adequate power supplies would be crucial to irrigating the rice fields during the dry season, helping ensure availability of the country’s main staple grain.
Private electricity producers, which account for as much as 45% of the nation’s electricity generation, need to import about 2.12 million tons of the fuel over the four summer months, the group said.