Load shedding worsens, exceeding 1700MW shortfall

Infographic: TBS

Load shedding has been intensifying at an abnormal rate across the country for the past few weeks, making daily life unbearable for many.

While the capital city, Dhaka, has experienced relatively less disruption, district towns and rural areas are enduring prolonged outages of 9 to 12 hours. Social media is abuzz with complaints about the worsening power crisis.

According to the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), the situation reached a critical point around noon yesterday, with a demand of 14,578 MW against a production of only 12,861 MW, resulting in a substantial shortfall of 1,717 MW. However, PGCB's website reported the shortfall as "1,640 MW".

Over the past week, load shedding has fluctuated between 1,500 and 2,000 MW daily.

This scene mirrors the situation from a year ago. On 11 September 2023, the demand was 14,500 MW, while supply was 13,041 MW, creating a shortfall of 1,393 MW. 

The persistent gap between demand and supply highlights the ongoing challenges facing the country's power sector.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) reports that for the past three and a half months, gas supply from one of Summit Group's floating LNG terminals has remained suspended, reducing gas-based electricity production by around 1,200 MW daily.

However, Petrobangla, the state-owned oil, gas and mineral exploration and distribution corporation, had said that the terminal was expected to be operational yesterday. 

In addition, Adani Group has reduced its electricity supply by 500 MW due to unpaid bills.

About 80% of the rural areas in the country are served by the Rural Electrification Board (REB), which is currently experiencing the highest levels of load shedding.

A member of distribution at REB, on conduction of anonymity, told TBS, "Our distribution areas are receiving 25-35% less power than demand, leading to an increase in outages.''

In Cumilla, the Chief Engineer of the Power Development Board, Tofazzal Hossain Pramanik, said that the region used to receive 150-160 MW of electricity from India's Tripura but now receives only 50-60 MW. This shortfall of nearly 100 MW has caused load shedding in six districts — Chandpur, Cumilla, Brahmanbaria, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, and Feni.

Load shedding was also reported to be severe in areas like Bogura, Savar, Ashulia, Rangpur, and Mymensingh.

What is behind the power shortfall?

During the 15-year rule of the Awami League, significant efforts were made to increase electricity generation capacity, which now stands at 27,791 MW.

However, in reality, less than half of that capacity is being utilised due to fuel shortages.

On Tuesday, 45 power plants were either partially or fully shut down due to a lack of primary energy, particularly gas and oil.

Among the non-operational power plants are several Independent Power Producers (IPP) and quick rental plants, which have either contracts that have expired or face shortages of furnace oil, diesel, and gas.

When will load shedding ease?

Speaking at a meeting with the executive committee of the Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) at the Secretariat on Wednesday, the Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, said today that the government is working hard to resolve the load-shedding issue.

He said the situation is likely to improve within the next 20 days.

At the meeting, Power Division Senior Secretary Habibur Rahman said the faulty pump at Barapukuria is being flown in from China and is expected to be operational by next Sunday. 

Additionally, efforts are underway to fix the malfunctioning unit at the Rampal power plant, he said.

Habibur Rahman also explained that in normal circumstances, these issues might have gone unnoticed, but the simultaneous gas crisis has exacerbated the problem. 

Bangladesh used to generate 7,000 MW of power from gas, but that has now dropped to 4,800 MW due to the reduced gas supply.

Regarding the dues owed to India's Adani Group, the secretary clarified that there is no financial crisis. The government has allocated $100 million through Sonali Bank, but due to a shortage of dollars, the payments have been delayed. 

He held out the assurance that Adani's electricity supply would not be interrupted.