110MW of load-shedding to be carried out in Dhaka: State Minister tells Parliament
A decision has been taken to conduct a pilot 110-megawatt load shedding in Dhaka in order to ensure that farmers are not adversely affected, to keep load shedding at a tolerable level, and to reduce the electricity disparity between rural and urban areas.
State Minister for Power and Energy Anindya Islam made this announcement in a statement under Rule 300 in the National Parliament on Thursday.
The State Minister attributed the power crisis to mismanagement during the previous Awami League government and a shortage of adequate fuel supply.
Expressing regret over the suffering caused by load shedding, he said that the current situation—where nearly 2,000 megawatts of load shedding is being experienced—would improve within the next seven days.
He noted that the government is working to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply. However, due to insufficient fuel supply in some areas, load shedding is still occurring. To bring this situation to a manageable level, a decision has been made, in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, to implement a pilot 110-megawatt load shedding scheme in Dhaka.
Anindya Islam said, “It is not acceptable that urban people remain comfortable while rural people, especially hardworking farmers, suffer. The spirit of the July uprising was to build a discrimination-free society, meaning there should be no inequality between urban and rural areas. To reduce this disparity, we have even decided to impose load shedding in cities if necessary, so that farmers can get sufficient electricity for irrigation.”
He further said, “We have no hesitation in admitting that many people have suffered due to power shortages in this intense heat. This problem is not of a single day. The responsibility for this accumulated crisis does not lie with the current elected government or any one party; everyone has to bear the consequences of the mismanagement of the previous fascist government.”
The State Minister also noted that although installed generation capacity is much higher on paper, it does not fully match reality.
He said that yesterday (Wednesday), the peak electricity demand was around 16,000 megawatts, while actual generation reached 14,126.35 megawatts. As a result, they were forced to implement 2,086 megawatts of load shedding.
He added that from the beginning, the government’s policy has been to ensure that farmers are not harmed during the harvest season.
Anindya Islam said the Prime Minister had directed that adequate diesel for irrigation and an uninterrupted electricity supply must be ensured for agricultural production. He added that the government is working to implement that directive.
The State Minister said, “Standing today in this great Parliament, I would like to express my sincere and humble apologies on behalf of the BNP government led by Tarique Rahman for the suffering faced by the people. I only want to assure you that we are making the utmost effort to ease the suffering of the people and to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity and energy.”
Addressing questions as to why power plants are not producing despite having capacity, the Power and Energy State Minister said that Bangladesh’s daily gas demand is 3,800 million cubic feet, while current production stands at 1,686 million cubic feet per day. On average, 950 million cubic feet is imported daily. Even though there is capacity, there is no scope to increase gas imports further because the necessary infrastructure cannot be expanded overnight.
He added that visible progress will be seen under the current government’s 180-day priority plan for expanding this infrastructure.
The State Minister further said, “Two power plants—one imported and another coal-based—are unable to supply adequate electricity due to maintenance work. We hope they will return to full production within the next few days. In that case, the current situation where we are experiencing around 2,000 megawatts of load shedding and enduring hardship will improve within the next seven days.”