Load-shedding situation getting worse in capital

Staff Reporter :
The capital city is reeling under heavy load-shedding for last couple of days amid demand and supply mismatch of electricity.
On Friday, city dwellers remained without power for several hours in various localities in Dhaka city.
Load-shedding lasted for four to six hours yesterday in many parts of the city including Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Gopibagh, Mugda, Lalbagh and Jatrabari.
“In our locality load-shedding is occurring three to four times in a day. A prolonged power cut was witnessed on Friday also even it was a holiday,” Suraiya Tazrin, a resident of the capital’s Mohammadpur area, told The New Nation.
“We are facing prolonged power cuts despite paying heavy electricity bills,” she added.
Jilani Milton, a resident of Dhaka’s Gopibagh area, said, “Load-shedding situation in the area has worsened for the last couple of days, disrupting our daily routine. On Friday, we faced power outage for four times. Households in our localities have been experiencing power cut for four-six hours a day.”
According to the officials of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC), unscheduled load-shedding is occurring within its areas due to electricity production shortfall, while issues related to frequent feeder trips are also being experienced due to the increased pressure on grid stations.
 “Currently, there is a supply shortfall of 400 MW electricity during the day and night. So, load- shedding is increasing in some city areas,” said Bikash Dewan, Managing Director of
DPDC, adding, “Load shedding schedule is not being followed due to persisting demand-supply mismatch of electricity.”
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) officials said, various areas of Dhaka city is experiencing city four to six hours of electricity load-shedding in a day due to reduced generation caused by fuel shortages, and reduced gas supplies to power plants.
Daily one hour area-based load-shedding started across Bangladesh from July 19 in a bid to tackle the ongoing energy crisis.
On July 20, the government decided to reduce the use of electricity by 25 per cent at all its offices as part of its austerity measures.
Moyeen Ahmed, a resident of Lalbagh in the capital, said, “The one hour area-based load-shedding plan has failed as we had to face hours-long unscheduled power cut in a day.”
“Load-shedding situation has worsened in the area over the last couple of days. Even, we have to face midnight power outages,” he added.
However, officials of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) said the entire demand for electricity has not yet been met after the grid failure. So load-shedding has increased. “But the situation will improve soon,” they added.
On October 4, several cities across Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka had plunged into darkness for six hours following a massive nationwide electricity blackout due to the failure of national power grid.