Photo : Messenger
Load shedding has spiked across the country even before the arrival of the summer season, although the demand for electricity has not increased as projected by the government.
Earlier, the Energy Division projected the demand for power to be 17,800 MW for the summer season. As of April 1, the demand for electricity stood at 14,200 MW, and the generation stood at 13,740 MW, according to the Power Development Board.
Meanwhile, load shedding has severely affected the Chattogram region, while the capital city Dhaka is experiencing load shedding ranging from one to two hours a day in different areas. Load shedding recorded 460 MW across the country during the evening peak hour on April 1.
On Monday, a statement signed by the Vice President of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Central Committee, SM Nazer Hossain, CAB Chattogram Divisional General Secretary Kazi Iqbal Bahar Chhaberi, and CAB Mahanagar President Jasmine Sultana Paru, was sent to the media, demanding an increase in electricity supply from the national grid to bring relief to the people affected by the severe load shedding in Chittagong.
Surprisingly, the website of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) shows no gap between supply and demand. The demand for electricity in Chattogram was 1,335 MW on April 1, when the supply was at full volume, but CAB claims that Chattogram received only 900 MW.
BPDB’s data shows that there was only 10 MW of load shedding in the Dhaka zone, while there was 40 MW in Mymensingh and no supply shortage in the other seven zones during off-peak hours. However, a minimum load shedding of 435 MW was recorded during the evening peak hour on April 1 across the country.
Officials concerned have hinted that load shedding will ease from next week as gas supply to power plants will increase, with Summit-owned floating LNG terminal scheduled to resume operations on April 3 after completing routine maintenance work.
With the beginning of Ramadan, the gas shortage in Dhaka and its surrounding areas has increased as the supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to the grid has decreased.
Sonia Begum, a resident of the capital's Banasree area, told The Daily Messenger, “We are experiencing, on average, one hour of load shedding at different times of the day and night, but we haven't experienced hour-long load shedding yet.”
Residents of Dhanmondi, Muhammadpur, Uttara, Bongshal, Jatrabari, Mirpur, Gulshan, Banani, Kurmitola, and Old Dhaka informed this reporter that they are facing one to one and a half hours of load shedding per day.
According to the data, the demand for power in Dhaka is 4,830 MW, while the supply is 4,820 MW. As of March 31, power demand in Khulna is 1,710 MW, Rajshahi 1,504 MW, Cumilla 1,193 MW, Rangpur 807 MW, Sylhet 468 MW, and Barisal 455 MW.
Power generation has been interrupted by 2,305 MW due to gas shortages, 134 MW due to coal shortages, and 1,736 MW capacity is under maintenance. However, oil-based plants with a capacity of 4,385 MW are operational, albeit at a high cost.
State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told The Daily Messenger, “Certainly, ensuring a smooth supply of electricity as per demand is very challenging. However, people will not face such issues in April. Chattogram is currently suffering from frequent load shedding, but the situation will improve within one to two days.”
Eminent expert Professor Shamsul Alam told The Daily Messenger, “The government is pursuing the wrong plan. Currently, energy supply is a major problem due to a significant portion of fuel being imported.”
He also criticised the government for increasing power prices regularly without ensuring a commitment to a smooth electricity supply. Additionally, he said that before increasing prices, the government fails to arrange hearings through regulatory bodies, which creates chaos in the power sector.
Muhammad Hossain, Director General of Power Cell, told The Daily Messenger, “The projection is not too high. Only 1,500 MW more will be added to the grid than the previous year. However, we had to resort to load shedding last season, and the situation will be the same this year.”
Regarding the economic adversity, he added, “We have been facing the situation since the Russia-Ukraine war last February, so we have experience in managing such situations.”
Gas demand is expected to be 1,760 mmcfd with a minimum of 1,540 mmcfd in the upcoming irrigation season. However, as of April 1, gas supply stood at 899.31 mmcfd. Additionally, furnace oil demand is expected to be 154,950 metric tons, and diesel demand is likely to be 15,600 metric tons. According to the energy department, there is no shortage of furnace oil and diesel.
Senior Secretary of Power Division, Md. Habibur Rahman, emphasised that the supply of gas, furnace oil, and diesel needs to be increased to boost power generation in the upcoming irrigation season.
A Petrobangla official mentioned that the daily gas supply last month exceeded 2,800 million cubic feet, whereas about 3,000 million cubic feet of gas was supplied to the national grid in the previous month.
Messenger/Disha
