Power outages have started hitting different parts of the capital from Thursday after a couple of days of load shedding in rural areas following a fall in electricity generation, triggered by the persistent gas crisis.
Besides, oil-run power plants are not operating at their full capacity owing to the complexity of payment of arrears.
The Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) and the Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (DESCO) supply electricity in Dhaka.
According to reliable sources from these agencies, the DPDC received on average 100-200 megawatts of electricity less than the demand on Thursday, triggering one or two hours of power outage at various places under its coverage.
On the other hand, the DESCO received 1,000 megawatts of electricity against a demand of 1,325 megawatts, forcing the agency to impose power outages across its entire coverage areas.
DESCO imposed 61 and 50 megawatts of load shedding in Gulshan and Baridhara respectively.
Sources at Power Division, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited (PGCB) said the country currently has a generation capacity of 26,000 megawatts of electricity.
However, electricity demand rose to a maximum of 14,750 megawatts at 12:00 pm on Thursday, while 1,795 megawatts of load shedding was imposed at the time.
On average, over 1,500 megawatts of power outages occurred per hour between Wednesday and Thursday evening, but actual load shedding, according to power distribution companies, was more than this.
BPDB member (generation) Khandaker Mokammel Hossain told Prothom Alo that all power stations of the BPDB stand ready for power generation, but they could not make sure of the fuel supply, which is why it has become difficult to generate electricity as per demand.
More suffering in rural areas
Md. Sohel is from Kalaskathi area of Bakerganj in Barishal. He told Prothom Alo on Thursday afternoon that electricity arrives at every alternate hour.
Nurul Haque is from Gazarbigha of Sadar upazila in Barguna. He said electricity supply was not in place even for six hours every 24 hours.
Currently, 83 industry units operate in the BSCIC industrial estate in Bogura, and those factories manufacture products of about Tk 1 billion annually.
Bogura BSCIC Industry Owners’ Association president Azizar Rahman said production dropped by 20-30 per cent due to frequent power outages with an average of six hours of load shedding occurring daily.
Sources at Northern Electricity Supply Company Limited (NESCO), Bogura, said there is a 30 per cent supply deficit against the demand, and an average of six hours of load shedding is imposed every day.
Bogura Palli Biddut Samaiti-1 general manager Manowarul Islam Firozi said they are imposing load shedding on 20-30 per cent of time of a day.
PGCB executive engineer in Mymensingh, Md. Masudul Haque, said they enforce 242 megawatts of load shedding in the six districts of Mymensingh region.
Though demand for electricity fell in Sylhet due to cool weather caused by floods and rainfalls, load shedding suddenly increased in the area over the past three days.
According to sources at BPDB’s sales and distribution division, load shedding occurs for six hours per day and there was a supply deficit of 54 megawatts on Thursday.
Gas crisis in industries, households
Currently, there is a demand for 3.80 billion cft (cubic feet) of gas in the country while the supply stands at 3 billion cft.
Two floating terminals in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, supply 1.10 billion cft of LNG (liquefied natural gas) per day, but those terminals are now supplying 250 million cft daily, thus, the country’s total gas supply currently dropped to 2.25 billion cft per day.
Summit Group operates one of two floating storage regasification units (FSRU), which has been closed since 27 May after sustaining damage from a cyclone.
The terminal is likely to resume operations on 15 July. Besides, the LNG supply fell further after the gas pipeline sustained damage in Chattogram on Tuesday night.
Household customers are struggling to cook in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country due to the supply crisis. Industrial production fell beforehand.
Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company supplies gas in Cumilla. Its manager Mir Fazle Rabbi said the gas supply remains halted to nearly 90 per cent of households and entirely to the export processing zone (EPZ).
Repairing work was progressing, a responsible official of Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) told Prothom Alo on Thursday evening.
They plan to run a trial on the gas supply at night, and if everything goes fine gas supply might start on Friday evening, he added.
* Prothom Alo’s correspondents from respective areas contributed reporting.
** This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna.