Power shortfall nears 2,000MW amid summer hit, gas shortage  

Following the Eid holidays, as summer continues, the country is grappling with rising electricity demand and inadequate power production, resulting in severe disruptions to daily life with rural areas experiencing the worst impact.

Power Division officials say gas shortages have led to complete or partial shutdown of several gas-based power plants. Simultaneously, maintenance work at major coal-based power plants has reduced electricity production. 

It all led to a significant deficit when the lack of rain and rising temperatures have increased power demand.

According to data from the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, at 2am today, nationwide electricity demand was 15,100MW, while production was only 13,026MW, resulting in a 1,981MW shortfall.

The situation was even worse the previous day, with load-shedding recorded at 2,240MW, according to the sole state-owned entity responsible for transmitting electricity from power plants to the national grid.

Experts believe the Grid Company's figures do not fully reflect the real situation, suggesting that actual load-shedding may be higher due to inaccuracies in demand calculations.

According to officials at power distribution companies, all state-owned, nationwide load-shedding has exceeded 2,000-3,000MW over the last couple of days.

Data from the Rural Electrification Board, which supplies electricity to over 80% of rural areas, notes that it maintained load-shedding of about 2,500-3,000MW today.

As a result, rural areas have been experiencing power outages for 18-20 hours a day, severely affecting industrial production and the charging of batteries for power vehicles, causing significant commuting difficulties, said people in various affected areas.

In some areas, power outages occur every hour, worsening public suffering in the prolonged and intense heat, they added.

Reasons for increased load-shedding?

The Power Division reports that the country's largest power plant in Payra has completely shut down one of its units. The plant's total capacity is 1,244MW, but with one unit closed, the other unit is generating only about 600MW. 

Maintenance work is also ongoing at one unit of the second-largest power plant in Rampal, which has a capacity of 1,234MW, reducing its output to about 800MW.

The third-largest power plant, SS Power in Chattogram, with a capacity of 1,224MW, also has one unit closed for maintenance, producing only about 600MW. The second-largest gas-based power plant, Meghnaghat, with a capacity of 584MW, is currently completely shut down due to gas shortages, it added.

Moreover, technical issues have caused Summit's LNG terminal to go out of operation, further reducing gas supply. The floating LNG terminal of Summit Group was sent to Singapore for repairs after being damaged by Cyclone Remal. As a result, gas supply has decreased, impacting electricity production.

According to Petrobangla, the country currently has a daily gas demand of 3,800 million cubic feet, but only 2,600 mmcfd are being supplied, resulting in a 1,000-1,200MW shortfall in gas-based electricity production.

Kamruzzaman Khan, director at Petrobangla, told The Business Standard, "Summit's floating LNG terminal (FSRU) in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar, was damaged by Cyclone Remal and taken to Singapore for repairs. It will take another 15-17 days for repairs to be completed and for the terminal to return to the country. We may have to wait until July 15 for its return."

Seeking anonymity, an official at the Bangladesh Power Development Board told TBS, "The simultaneous damage to Summit's LNG terminal, the sudden shutdown of one unit at the Payra power plant, and maintenance at Adani's power plant have made it challenging to manage the overall situation.

"The lack of rain and rising temperatures have increased power demand, leading to load-shedding. However, officials claim that the situation will improve rapidly with cooler temperatures due to rainfall and the reopening of the Payra power plant."