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Bangladesh is facing a severe power shortage, with load-shedding reaching record levels as fuel shortages, reduced generation at major plants and financial constraints limit electricity production.
The country has nearly 29,000 megawatts of installed generation capacity, including imported power. Yet the power sector is struggling to meet demand even when it reaches only about half of that capacity.
A shortage of gas, lower generation from the Payra and Adani power plants, and limited financial capacity to operate expensive oil-fired plants have combined to create a major gap between electricity demand and supply. Load-shedding is now widespread, with rural areas bearing the brunt of the cuts.
According to the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), peak load-shedding reached 3,757 megawatts at 1am on Tuesday, against demand of 16,262MW. Only 12,505MW was supplied, leaving nearly 23% of demand unmet.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) data showed that average electricity demand on Monday was 17,403MW, while load-shedding averaged 2,722MW over the 24-hour period. Dhaka recorded the highest amount of load-shedding at 547MW, while no load-shedding was reported in the Chattogram region. In terms of duration, however, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Khulna experienced the longest outages.
The situation has deteriorated rapidly since the beginning of August. Peak load-shedding stood at 3,671MW the previous day and 3,512MW on August 3. More than 3,000MW of load-shedding was recorded again at noon on Tuesday.
The contrast with just three weeks ago is stark. On July 21, the day of the accident at the floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, peak load-shedding was only 488MW. The latest peak is therefore more than seven times higher.
Power-sector officials say the crisis is being driven largely by shortages of fuel, money and foreign currency. Although generation plants are available, there is not enough gas, coal and oil to operate them at full capacity.
Running costly oil-fired plants for extended periods would also increase BPDB’s losses and put further pressure on government subsidies. Meanwhile, years of unpaid dues have weakened the ability of private power producers to purchase fuel and maintain generation.
The crisis comes despite recent increases in electricity prices. Wholesale electricity prices were raised by an average of 19.85% and retail prices by 16.68% in June. Even after the hikes, BPDB has struggled to clear the large arrears owed to power plants.
With temperatures expected to rise, officials fear the electricity supply situation could deteriorate further unless fuel availability and the sector’s financial constraints are addressed.