Dhaka residents battle power cuts, Baridhara feels heat
Residents of Baridhara and other parts of Dhaka faced renewed power cuts during the evening peak hour on Friday, Saturday as load shedding in the capital’s electricity zone surged to 599 megawatts, up 385MW from the previous day, according to Power Grid Bangladesh PLC data.
A local resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The New Nation that repeated outages had become unbearable, particularly during the evening when families needed electricity for cooking, cooling and other essential household activities.
The figure was 385MW higher than the previous day, highlighting renewed pressure on electricity supply amid sharply rising evening demand, according to Power Grid Bangladesh PLC data.
The latest surge came as electricity demand in the Dhaka zone reached 6,489MW during the evening peak hour on August 22, against 214MW of load shedding and demand of 5,635MW on August 21.
The frequent cuts have been particularly uncomfortable in residential areas such as Baridhara, where residents rely on fans and air conditioners to cope with the heat.
The power situation had already remained volatile throughout the week.On August 20, electricity demand in the Dhaka zone stood at 6,251MW, while load shedding reached 554MW.
The highest level during the five-day period was recorded on August 19, when load shedding stood at 640MW, despite demand of 6,251MW.
By contrast, the situation was considerably better on August 18, when demand stood at 6,184MW and load shedding was limited to 154MW.
The figures show how rapidly the capital’s power supply situation can deteriorate. Between August 21 and 22, electricity demand increased by 854MW, while load shedding rose by 385MW.
Residents said the repeated outages were disrupting daily life, particularly after office hours when people returned home and electricity consumption increased.
The Power Grid Bangladesh PLC figures also indicate that the Dhaka electricity network has been under considerable pressure, with load shedding exceeding 500MW on several days.
Power sector officials said the situation could be linked to gas shortages, reduced generation by power plants and electricity demand exceeding available supply. Limited gas supplies to gas-fired power plants can reduce their generation capacity, forcing authorities to introduce load shedding in different areas to maintain balance across the national grid.
The country is also facing a persistent gas supply shortfall, leaving several gas-fired power plants unable to operate at full capacity.
The reduced generation from those plants is placing additional pressure on the electricity supply system at a time when demand in Dhaka is rising sharply.
The latest increase in load shedding has once again raised concerns over the reliability of electricity supply in the capital, particularly during peak evening hours.
