People in northern region fatigued due to frequent power outage
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Consumers of rural electricity in Rangpur and other northern areas are suffering from frequent load shedding amidst unbearable heat. Due to a power shortage, many areas are without electricity for a large part of the day. This is damaging electrical appliances and disrupting normal life.
Consumers complain that the repeated power outages are damaging various electrical equipment, including refrigerators. Additionally, the heat has increased the suffering of children and the elderly.
Officials of the Rural Electrification Board have stated that there are nearly one crore consumers under 17 rural electric cooperatives in Rangpur and the northern region. However, due to receiving less power allocation than the demand, load shedding has become a regular occurrence. Besides this, faults appearing in power lines in various areas are further disrupting the supply.
According to relevant sources, each rural electric cooperative has an average of 5 to 7 lakh consumers. While the demand for electricity in each cooperative ranges from 70 to 120 megawatts, there is a daily average deficit of about 40 megawatts.
Under Rangpur Rural Electric Cooperative-1, there are about 6 lakh consumers. Although the daily demand there is 110 to 120 megawatts, currently only 70 to 80 megawatts are being supplied. The situation is similar in other rural electric cooperatives in the northern region.
Habibur Rahman, a consumer from Mithapukur upazila, said, "We are suffering due to frequent power outages during this intense heat. Although the issue has been reported repeatedly, no effective solution has been found."
Albida Khatun, a consumer from the Burirhat area under the Gangachara zonal office of Rangpur Rural Electric Cooperative-2, complained that there were at least 10 load shedding incidents in the 24 hours from 7 AM on Saturday to 7 AM on Sunday. The power was also disconnected several times from Sunday morning. Often, after half an hour of power, it remains off for several hours.
Ahad Ali from Taluk Habu village said that for the past few days, there have been 10 to 12 load shedding incidents daily. There is no power for roughly half the day. This has created a risk of damage to various electrical appliances, including refrigerators.
Consumers further allege that power connections are cut off in many areas even with a little cloud cover. Additionally, power is kept off for line work one day a week with prior notice. Apart from this, unscheduled power outages are also occurring.
Farhad Hossain, Deputy General Manager (DGM) of the Gangachara Zone Office, said, "Power supply is kept off after informing consumers in advance to repair line faults. And load shedding is being done due to the power shortage. Currently, against a demand of 15 megawatts, we are receiving only 7 megawatts."
Monwarul Islam Firozi, General Manager (GM) of Rangpur Rural Electric Cooperative-2, said that against a demand of 100 megawatts, they are receiving 60 megawatts. Therefore, there is no way to avoid load shedding. The situation would improve if they received power allocation according to demand. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to quickly repair faults in the power lines. All 17 rural electric cooperatives in the northern region are facing the same type of crisis.
