Load shedding intensifies further amid fuel-dollar crisis

As the supply of required fuel for power plants is not available, the power division is unable to produce electricity as per demand.

Due to the inability to acquire foreign currency dollars, unpaid bills are accumulating, putting the power sector under pressure as temperatures rise.

As a result, the situation of load shedding has worsened due to the shortage of fuel and dollars. The situation may improve if it rains.

Sources at the electricity supply agencies said load shedding reached up to 2,500 megawatts on Monday night. Gas supply has not increased, and the Adani power plant is also supplying less.

Moreover, mechanical faults have caused all units of the Barapukuria power plant to shut down. As a result, load shedding nearly reached 3,000 megawatts on Tuesday.

The majority of the electricity comes from gas-based power plants, which have a generation capacity of about 12,000 megawatts.

Previously, up to 6,500 megawatts of electricity were produced when needed, but now production is limited to less than 5,000 megawatts.

The Power Development Board (PDB) reported that the power sector received gas supplies of 1.20 to 1.30 billion cubic feet per day, but now only 800 to 850 million cubic feet are being supplied.

Two floating LNG terminals in Maheshkhali and Cox's Bazar provide 1.10 billion cubic feet of gas per day. The Summit LNG terminal has been closed since 27 May, reducing the supply to 600 million cubic feet. The terminal is expected to reopen on 12 September.

Petrobangla's chairman, Janendra Nath Sarker, speaking to Prothom Alo, said some gas will be supplied from existing reserves once the Summit terminal reopens. Steps are being taken to quickly procure LNG from the open market. The process might take some time due to the tendering procedure.

The largest single power supplier is Adani’s power plant in Jharkhand, India. They have supplied up to 1,500 megawatts per day but are currently providing only 1,000 megawatts.

Sources at PDB and Adani said that the central bank has instructed Sonali Bank to clear dues to reduce load shedding. On Monday, 8 million dollars and 2 million dollars were paid on Tuesday. Further payments are expected today, Wednesday.

However, this is relatively insignificant compared to the outstanding amount. Adani’s daily dues amount to 3 million dollars, which is why they are not agreeing to increase supply. Additional payments may lead to increased supply.

The previous Awami League government had slightly alleviated the pressure of unpaid electricity bills in the private sector by issuing bonds from banks. However, arrears have still accumulated.
The PDB’s outstanding dues now total Tk 350 billion, including gas bills, bills from government and private power plants, and bills from Indian power plants.

Due to the pressure of these arrears, electricity production is also not possible from private sector oil-fired plants during the highest demand.

Additionally, delayed payment fines have resulted in an outstanding amount of 82.7 million dollars from Indian power plants, approximately Tk 10 billion. The power sector is working on resolving this issue.

PDB chairman Md Rezaul Karim told Prothom Alo that gas supply is not increasing and required dollars are also unavailable.

With rising temperatures, there is a slight power deficit. Efforts are being made to mitigate the situation by increasing production from oil-fired plants and taking steps to increase supply from Adani’s power plant.

When there is a significant deficit in power supply, load shedding is carried out even in the capital Dhaka.

The Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) and Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) are responsible for power supply in Dhaka.

Sources said load shedding increased in Dhaka compared to the previous day. On Monday, both companies experienced a maximum deficit of 100 megawatts during the day. By night, the deficit for DPDC exceeded 200 megawatts. On Tuesday, DESCO areas saw load shedding of 160 megawatts and DPDC areas 200 megawatts during the day. As a result, some areas of the capital experienced load shedding for one to two hours.

Load shedding is also occurring in divisional, district, and upazila towns outside Dhaka, with a higher frequency in rural areas served by rural electrification cooperatives.

Among the six distribution companies, the Rural Electrification Board (REB) serves the largest number of customers. According to their data, they experienced a maximum load shedding of 2,470 megawatts around three in the afternoon. Areas around Dhaka had a 38 per cent deficit, while in Cumilla it was 37 per cent, Mymensingh 35 per cent, Rajshahi 33 per cent, Sylhet 28 per cent, and Rangpur 26 per cent.

Production at the 525-megawatt Barapukuria thermal power plant in Dinajpur’s Parbatipur has been completely halted.

On Monday at around 9:00pm, production at the third unit was stopped due to a mechanical fault. Earlier, the other two units had been shut down for repairs. For the first time, all three units of the Barapukuria thermal power plant are closed, leading to extensive load shedding in Parbatipur upazila and eight northern districts.

Rafiqul Islam from the village of Pairaband in Mithapukur upazila, under Rangpur Rural Electricity-1, said it is extremly hot.

Electricity often goes out for two hours after being on for just half an hour. He gets about six hours of electricity in a 24-hour period.

Farmer Sadekul Islam from the Navanidas area of Gangachcara upazila, under Rural Electricity Cooperative-2, said they are getting 5-6 hours of electricity a day and night.

The general manager of the cooperative, Khurshid Alam, said, “I am hearing people’s suffering on the phone. Even at my home, there is no electricity.”

A delegation of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), consumer rights organisation, met with the power, energy, and mineral resources advisor Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan in the ministry’s meeting room on Wednesday afternoon.

According to meeting sources, CAB emphasized three main points. Those are: bureaucrats have to be removed from the boards of all electricity and energy companies and members have to be appointed through the regulatory agency, BERC; the implementation of regulations through BERC for all activities; and advancing government policies to create corruption-free electricity and energy sector.

They also provided some suggestions for reducing costs in the electricity production sector and discussed the ongoing load shedding situation.
CAB’s energy advisor M Shamsul Alam told Prothom Alo that electricity production has to be increased by increasing gas supply to the electricity sector, by reducing it in other sectors, operating oil-fired plants more, and acquiring dollars.

Increasing production by 10 to 15 per cent could help address the current load shedding crisis, he added.

**This article, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam