Power crisis grips rural areas in BD
Load shedding has intensified across Bangladesh, with power shortages now affecting consumers during both peak daytime hours and late at night amid reduced gas supplies to power plants.
According to power sector officials, the country’s electricity demand stood at 18,896MW at 5pm on Saturday, while 2,534MW of load shedding was recorded. At 3pm, demand was 15,377MW against 2,958MW of load shedding.
The situation was also unusual in the morning, when demand is typically lower. At 9am, the country faced 1,505MW of load shedding against demand of 13,739MW.
The shortage has also extended into the early hours of the day. At 3am on Friday, demand was 14,407MW, while load shedding stood at 2,432MW.
The situation had been relatively stable on Thursday, when load shedding remained between 300MW and 400MW. The sharp deterioration within a day has raised concerns among power sector officials.
They said reduced gas supplies to power plants were one of the main reasons behind the crisis. Gas supplies to power plants have fallen from around 990–1,000 million cubic feet per day to about 680 million cubic feet, preventing gas-fired plants from operating at full capacity.
Power generation has also been affected by the shutdown of one unit of the Payra power plant, which is currently supplying only around 400–500MW.
Meanwhile, gas supply from the damaged LNG terminal at Maheshkhali resumed at 3:10am on Thursday. The terminal is currently supplying around 280 million cubic feet of gas to the national grid.
Officials said another 300 million cubic feet could be added once the terminal’s second boiler becomes operational.
Petrobangla Chairman Mohammad Abdul Mannan said gas supplies would return to normal once the terminal becomes fully operational. He added that the necessary LNG cargoes had already been secured.
Rural areas hit hard
The power shortage has severely disrupted daily life in Bagha upazila of Rajshahi, where frequent load shedding is affecting farmers, businesses, students and other residents across seven unions.
Locals said some areas are without electricity for nearly 12 hours a day, while rising electricity bills have added to their frustration.
The rural electricity authority said it has been forced to impose load shedding because it is receiving less than half of the electricity required from the national grid.
The total electricity demand in Bagha and Arani municipalities and surrounding areas is around 20MW. Against this, the area receives only 10MW at night and 7.1MW during the day.
Moniruzzaman, deputy general manager of the Bagha Rural Electricity Office, said they were having to operate one line at a time and shut down another on a rotational basis due to the supply shortage.
