Load shedding rises again amid severe heat
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Severe load shedding began in the country in August this year. On August 10, a record 3,671 megawatts of load shedding was recorded.
However, load shedding became somewhat manageable around the middle of September. But as temperatures rose and production at several major power plants declined, the level of load shedding increased again across the country at the end of September.
People’s lives have been disrupted as electricity remains unavailable for hours amid the intense heat. Business activities and factory production are being affected. Farmers have also been facing difficulties as the irrigation season begins amid the situation.
According to Power Grid data, the country’s electricity demand was 15,860 megawatts at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30. Against this, the supply was 14,243 megawatts. The shortfall was 1,617 megawatts.
At the day peak at noon, demand was 15,328 megawatts while supply was 13,921 megawatts. The shortfall was 1,407 megawatts.
At the evening peak at 9 pm the previous day, demand was 16,987 megawatts. Supply stood at 16,009 megawatts, resulting in 978 megawatts of load shedding. At 1 am, the shortfall increased to 2,387 megawatts.
People in small towns and villages are suffering the most from the power shortage. In some areas, load shedding is taking place alternately during the day and night. In others, less than half of the electricity demanded is being supplied.
One of the main reasons for the shortage in power generation is reduced production at several major power plants. At the Rampal Power Plant, production was 750 megawatts yesterday afternoon against its capacity of 1,235 megawatts. The plant is facing a coal shortage.
For the same reason, production at India’s Adani power plant has fallen to 500 to 700 megawatts. Under normal circumstances, the plant supplies around 1,400 megawatts of electricity to Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, production at the Payra and Matarbari thermal power plants has also declined due to technical problems. In addition, several major power plants are unable to operate at full capacity due to technical problems and other fuel shortages, creating a supply shortfall in the national grid. Limited gas supply is also affecting production at gas fired power plants.
