Load-shedding: Dhaka, Cumilla, Mymensingh residents suffer the most

There hasn’t been that much improvement in the load shedding situation of the country. The residents of Dhaka, Cumilla and Mymensingh are suffering the most.

According to the Power Development Board (PDB), the country has a capacity of generating 27,086 MW power every day. Of that, 3,846 MW cannot be used due to lack of fuel and 3,835 MW remains unused due to technical flaws. Lack of the supply of coal has hampered the production at the Matarbari Power Plant. The 1200-MW-power-plant is producing 800 MW at the moment.

PDB sources say among the major power plants, full supply is available only from the Payra Power Plant at the moment. One of the two units of the Rampal Power Plant in Bagerhat was out of service due to some technical flaws. Supply from both units resumed yesterday, Wednesday. One of the two units of the Banshkhali Power Plant in Bashkhali is now under maintenance. As a result, supply halved.

Meanwhile, supply from the Adani-owned power plant declined by 500 MW due to payment related issues. Bangladesh owes USD 800 million to Adani Group. Of that, the deadline to clear USD 500 million has already ended. Following the decline in the supply, the government cleared USD 100 million on Monday and Tuesday. Although the company was supposed to get another payment of USD 5 million, it didn’t get it. The everyday bill of the company stands at USD 3 million.

The Summit terminal used for supplying imported LNG (liquefied natural gas) was closed for three months which created a gas shortage. Summit, in a press release on Wednesday, said LNG supply from the floating terminal in Maheshkhali had resumed.

However, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser for power, energy and minerals, is hopeful about the situation getting better. He said, “There are some technical issues in Barapukuria. Things are being sorted out quickly. The Rampal Power Plant resumed supply in full swing. We are in contact with Adani. We have taken measures to import gas rapidly. So things will get better within the next three weeks.”

The adviser said this in a meeting with a delegation led by Shameem Jahangir, chairman of the Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh.

The Dhaka Power Distribution company (DPDC) and Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) distribute electricity. Reliable sources in these two companies say the Dhaka residents experienced load shedding on Wednesday too. They had to cover 150 MW through load shedding in the areas under the DESCO and 200 MW load shedding in areas under the DPDC. As a result, the residents of Dhaka experienced one to two hours of power outage depending on the area.

However, the power outages are far more frequent in most of the rural areas of the country. According to the information provided by the Rural Electrification Board (REB), they had to enforce the highest 2,092 MW power outage at around 3:00 pm yesterday. The supply has dwindled by 25 per cent on average, REB said.

The REB supplies electricity in all villages of Dhaka district. The government agency had a 33 per cent deficit in the supply on Wednesday. The deficit was 34 per cent in Cumilla, 33 per cent in Mymensingh, 27 per cent in Rajshahi, 19 per cent in Rangpur and Sylhet, 6 per cent in Chattogram and 1 per cent in Barishal.

The residents of Keraniganj in Dhaka have suffered a lot due to the load shedding over the last few days. Dhaka Palli Bidyut Samiti-4 manager, engineer Julfikar said the average demand of power in the Keraniganj upazila is around 212 MW. However, the supply has declined to 130 MW. Therefore, they had no other ways than enforcing load shedding in the area.

There are around 10,000 showrooms and 5,000 factories in the Charkaliganj, Khejur Bagh, Aganagar, Nagar Mahal and the Ispahani areas in the Shubhaddhya and Aganagar unions.

Keraniganj Shop Owners Association convener Anwar Hossain said they were incurring losses as the production is hampered due to the power outages.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Shubhaddhya Purba Para resident Mohammad Zahid said, “We are experiencing power outages day and night. Electricity is not available for more than half of the day in our area.

[Prothom Alo’s Keraniganj correspondent helped prepare this report]

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu