Rural Bangladesh Hit Hard by Severe Load Shedding

A severe load-shedding, especially in rural areas, has worsened with the mercury rising, while the government struggles to meet ever off-peak demand due to shortages of gas, coal, and furnace oil to generate enough electricity.

A newspaper, quoting data from Power Grid Bangladesh (PGCB), yesterday said load-shedding averaged more than 2,000 megawatts on Fridays and Saturdays, the weekly holidays, over the past three weeks.

If rainfall does not occur, electricity demand is likely to rise further this week, which could lead to even more load-shedding.

Data from Bangladesh Power Development Board (B PDB), PGCB and Rural Electrification Board (REB) show that Bangladesh currently has an electricity generation capacity of more than 28,000 megawatts.

However, fuel shortages have limited actual generation to between 13,000 and 14,000 megawatts, while demand has exceeded 16,500 megawatts.

As a result, authorities have had to impose load-shedding of between 2,000 and 3,000 megawatts.

In many areas under the REB, people are experiencing 5 to 6 hours of daily power cuts, with some regions facing outages of 7 to 10 hours.

For the past several years, consumers have experienced load-shedding during the summer season even on public holidays, and this year has followed the same pattern.

And to manage the power deficit, authorities have mainly imposed load-shedding outside Dhaka.

Power sector insiders say that electricity demand has remained unusually high after midnight for the past several years, although demand would normally decline during those hours.

They believe the widespread charging of electric rickshaw batteries across the country contributes to the higher demand.

Energy experts say that the country’s limited ability to finance imports means that fuel supplies remain uncertain. As a result, load-shedding has become a normal, everyday occurrence.

On the other hand, a BPDB official said the government increased electricity tariffs in June to reduce the subsidy burden.

This will increase the BPDB’s revenue and prevent further accumulation of arrears.

However, it will take more time to clear the existing outstanding bills. If we avoid operating oil-fired power plants, the pressure on subsidies will decline.

Unless the new government takes effective initiatives, the suffering will not diminish, and rural communities will bear the greatest burden.

However, the government has taken a comprehensive action plan in the power sector to strengthen energy security, ensure uninterrupted electricity and energy supply.

In this context, in the proposed budget for FY 2026-27, the power and energy sector has been placed fifth among the 10-priority sectors.

We believe that the government would do everything possible to ensure long-term energy security and keep the electricity prices affordable to all.