Bangladesh Faces Widespread Power Cuts Amid Soaring Demand and Fuel Shortages
Bangladesh is experiencing severe electricity shortages and load shedding across the country. Hot weather has sharply increased the demand for power. At the same time, power generation has fallen due to various problems. This leaves many people without electricity for hours each day.
On Thursday, 62 out of 137 power plants faced problems. Production stopped completely in 20 plants. Others ran at reduced capacity. This led to a peak load shedding of 3,664 megawatts (MW) that day.
The main reasons for the power crisis include a severe gas shortage. There are also not enough supplies of coal and liquid fuel. Adding to these problems, two large power plants recently suffered technical faults. Some plants are also closed for regular maintenance.
Load shedding has been ongoing for about a month. It becomes worse during hot weather and lessens when it rains. Initially, only areas outside Dhaka faced power cuts. However, since August 12, Dhaka residents also experience load shedding.
People in Dhaka often report longer and more frequent power outages than planned. For example, Zalowashan Akhtar Khan from Bashundhara said his area loses power multiple times daily. He also faces gas shortages at home, forcing him to buy expensive LPG cylinders.
Mohammad Zahurul Islam, a Power Development Board (PDB) member, said that key coal-based plants are facing issues. One unit each of two large coal plants has stopped. The Adani power plant in India is also not supplying full electricity due to coal supply problems.
Bangladesh has a total electricity production capacity of about 29,000 MW. On Thursday, the country’s demand was 16,946 MW. But only 13,282 MW could be supplied. This means a large part of the available capacity could not be used.
The gas crisis deeply affects power generation. The country’s daily gas demand is 3.8 billion cubic feet (BCF). However, only 2.35 BCF was supplied recently. A floating LNG terminal, Excellerate, reopened on August 15 after a fire. But gas supply cannot increase yet because a new cargo of LNG has not arrived.
Officials are trying to manage the situation by increasing power production from fuel oil. However, this method is more expensive. Imran Karim, a former head of private power plant owners, said oil-powered plants could produce more if past payment issues are resolved.
M Shamsul Alam, an energy advisor, stressed the need for structural reforms. He said fixing mismanagement and other problems is crucial to end the ongoing energy crisis.
