Load-shedding, announced back, stopped somewhat after the onset of winter in December; After a month, electricity is going back and forth across the country, including Dhaka.
Consumers of various areas are reporting that electricity load shedding has been occurring at regular intervals for the last one week due to the northerly wind that started at the end of monsoon and the demand is low during the winter days in Konkan.
Due to the lack of coal and gas, power generation is stumbling again, and the distribution companies outside Dhaka are shedding load in the face of shortage. Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) Member (Generation) SM Wazed Ali Sardar has expressed hope that the situation will be normal in the next few days.
He told bdnews24.com that this situation is due to the fact that the supply of gas has decreased completely. Also, due to a fault in a power plant in India, less than 150 MW is coming from there.
“We are trying to normalize the situation in the next few days.”
However, Director (Operation and Mine) of Petrobangla. Kamruzzaman Khan claimed that the supply of gas has remained the same for the last two and a half months. Another 50 to 100 MMcfd of gas is being demanded more from PDB. But it is not possible to meet the gas demand of the industry at the moment. If gas is to be given to the power plant, the gas of the industrial connection should be reduced.
“The demand for gas is always higher than the supply. But that is nothing new. Gas is being supplied at an average of 850 mmcfd to the power plants.”
Another top official of Petrobangla said on condition of anonymity that the amount of gas supplied to the power plants in November-December is the same as in January.