Load-shedding sparks public anger as power agencies seek security

The ongoing gas crisis has reduced power generation and led to increased load-shedding across the country, with most of the shortages occurring outside Dhaka, particularly in rural areas.

Public frustration over the outages is also growing, raising concerns about the safety of power infrastructure and employees. Local offices of power distribution companies have sought assistance from the Police Headquarters and law-enforcement agencies in several districts to strengthen security.

Meanwhile, the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has fallen further. Due to rough weather at sea, gas supply from Summit’s floating LNG terminal has dropped to 100 million cubic feet a day. Overall, the country received 2.03 billion cubic feet of gas on Wednesday against a daily demand of 3.80 billion cubic feet. If weather conditions do not improve, there are concerns that supply from Summit’s terminal could be suspended altogether.

The government has also changed the operating hours of shopping malls, markets and shops across the country as part of efforts to conserve electricity. Under the new schedule, these establishments may remain open from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm.

All illuminated billboards must be switched off by 7:00 pm, while all forms of decorative lighting have been ordered to remain off completely. The new measures took effect on Wednesday.

As power outages have increased across the country amid the fuel crisis, the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Association wrote to the Police Headquarters on Wednesday seeking enhanced security for the country’s 80 rural electricity cooperatives.

The letter said public anger was rising because of excessive load-shedding in rural areas and that power substations had come under attack in some places. It requested stronger security at rural electricity substations and offices nationwide.

Six distribution companies supply electricity to consumers across the country. In Dhaka, electricity is supplied by the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) and Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO), and the capital is currently receiving electricity according to demand.

Outside Dhaka, electricity is supplied to rural areas by 80 cooperatives under the Rural Electrification Board (REB), with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) also supplying some areas.

NESCO supplies electricity in urban areas in the north, while WZPDCL serves cities in the southwest. Officials of NESCO, WZPDCL and rural electricity cooperatives in at least three districts have sought police assistance.

For about a week, peak load-shedding has exceeded 3,000 megawatts every day. Data from the BPDB and Power Grid Bangladesh PLC (PGCB) show that peak load-shedding stood at 3,671 MW on Sunday, rose to 3,757 MW on Monday, fell to 3,465 MW on Tuesday and stood at 3,382 MW on Wednesday.

Sources at the BPDB and REB said total load-shedding across the country reached 3,592 MW at midnight on 11 August. In REB areas alone, the figure was 3,034 MW at the same time.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit told Prothom Alo on Wednesday night that people in rural areas were suffering the most. “There may naturally be some concern among officials and employees involved in power distribution. We are maintaining regular communication at the field level,” he said.

The government was making every effort to improve the electricity and gas situation, he added, while also considering ways to reduce the disparity in load-shedding between urban and rural areas in keeping with the spirit of the mass uprising.

Seeking security

The Saidpur electricity sales and distribution division of NESCO submitted a written application to Saidpur police station on Wednesday seeking deployment of police and regular night patrols to strengthen security at important power installations. The letter said Saidpur, like the rest of the country, was experiencing load-shedding, resulting in public frustration over the power situation.

Saidpur police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Rezaul Karim Reza said NESCO had requested police deployment and that the matter would be considered seriously, with necessary security measures to be taken.

The Nilphamari Rural Electricity Cooperative sent letters to police stations on Tuesday seeking security for its offices and electricity distribution substations.

The letters were sent to six police stations in the district, said the cooperative’s general manager Mohammad Khurshid Alam. He said the district was receiving only 45–55 MW against a demand of 80 MW. The cooperative sought security because of the deteriorating power supply situation.

Domar police station OC Mohammad Habibullah said police had been deployed at power installations and patrols were continuing.

In Kushtia, the local WZPDCL office and the rural electricity cooperative separately wrote to the police superintendent seeking enhanced security at all important installations and offices.

Copies of the letters sent on Monday and Tuesday were also forwarded to the deputy commissioner and other government offices.

The WZPDCL letter said widespread load-shedding was causing public frustration and that, amid the crisis, there was a risk of attacks on key power installations and other important electrical facilities.

A letter signed by Jahangir Alam, general manager (additional charge) of the Kushtia Rural Electricity Cooperative, said demand stood at 155 MW while only 85–95 MW was being supplied. As a result, a shortage of 60–70 MW was forcing the cooperative to impose prolonged load-shedding.

Additional Superintendent of Police Faisal Mahmud, spokesperson for the Kushtia district police, told Prothom Alo that he had seen the two letters on Wednesday morning. “The police are monitoring the situation. Necessary measures will be taken,” he said.

The local WZPDCL office in Gopalganj had also written to the police superintendent on Tuesday seeking security.

Gas supply falls further

The state minister spoke to reporters at the Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon about the energy situation. “There is no doubt that the suffering has reached an extreme level. I apologise repeatedly for this. The inability to ensure adequate gas supply is disrupting power generation and creating a deficit,” he said.

Bangladesh has two floating LNG terminals at Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar for receiving imported LNG. US-based Excelerate Energy operates a terminal with a capacity of 600 million cubic feet a day, while local company Summit operates another with a capacity of 500 million cubic feet.

Excelerate’s terminal was shut down after a fire on 21 July, reducing gas supplies. The disruption has affected everything from household cooking to industrial production and power generation. Long queues have also formed at CNG filling stations as motorists struggle to obtain gas.

According to Petrobangla sources, Excelerate’s terminal has two boilers, each with a capacity to supply 300 million cubic feet of gas. One was damaged in the fire. Gas supply from the undamaged boiler resumed on Thursday, while work is under way to bring the damaged boiler back into operation.

Summit had been supplying 500 million cubic feet of gas a day. However, rough weather at sea prevented the terminal from receiving LNG from a new vessel. On Petrobangla’s instructions, Summit reduced its supply after 7:00pm on Monday. By Wednesday, the supply had fallen below 100 million cubic feet.

Energy expert M Tamim told Prothom Alo that supply disruptions can occur because of natural disasters. “If the interim government had not cancelled the third terminal, perhaps this situation would not have arisen,” he said.

He said Bangladesh needed enough LNG storage capacity to maintain supplies for at least seven to 15 days. “The current government cannot be blamed for the energy crisis,” he said, adding that security should be strengthened to prevent attacks and that people should be kept informed about the situation. He also suggested that the government could consider offering consumers some relief on their electricity and gas bills.

[Prothom Alo correspondents in Kushtia, Nilphamari and Saidpur contributed to this report.]