Load shedding is accelerating in proportion to scorching heat. Especially, people in rural areas are suffering unspeakably due to power outages for hours.
The meteorological department has said that the mercury level won’t decline soon.
So it is only normal that the weather will be hot in the coming months in the country. If the rate of load shedding also increases, people’s sufferings become endless.
According to media reports, at the beginning of April, there’s even seven to eight hours of load shedding a day in different rural areas of the country.
While the demand has increased in this hot weather, electricity generation cannot be increased due to lack of fuel.
The electricity generation capacity of the country is about 26,000 megawatt.
The demand is now 15,500 megawatt a day, but the supply deficit is about 2,000 megawatt, which is balanced through load shedding.
The government’s success in the power sector is being questioned due to various reasons. Power generation capacity has been increased without considering the source of energy.
As a result, private power plants have to pay capacity charges even without generating electricity. Electricity prices have been increased from time to time.
Although the power division claims there’s no load shedding in Dhaka, the reality is different. In many areas of the city, the power goes out several times a day.
The situation of rural areas outside Dhaka and other mega cities is extremely worrying.
In some places, there’s seven to eight hours of load shedding. Just as the public life is distraught because of power crisis, the agricultural and industrial production is disrupted as well.
The excessive load shedding was reported from Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bogura, Sylhet, Lakshmipur, Cumilla, Mymensingh and Gazipur regions.
A farmer from the northern region said that without uninterrupted power supply they would have to rely on diesel. The cost will increase several times in that case.
Energy experts believe that the dependent energy policy of the government is responsible for this crisis in the power sector.
There is no attempt to explore and extract new gas on land and off the shore.
When the price of fuel oil was low in the international market, the government made a profit by importing it. Now it is in trouble due to the price hike.
If the government makes sincere efforts, it can definitely reduce the number of illegal connections, wastage and corruption and can keep supply lines fault-free. Efforts must be made to reduce load shedding in rural areas.
