About 3 crore consumers of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) and West Zone Power Distribution Company (WZPDCO) have been experiencing power cuts rampantly following the landfall of Cyclone Remal on Sunday.
"Cyclone Remal has disrupted power supply, about 26626550 consumers of BREB and 4 lakh 53,000 consumers of WZPDCO remain out of electricity supply as the distribution companies have switched off many supply line in the coastal areas as a safety measure due to Cyclone Remal," Power Division spokesperson Mir Mohammad Aslam Uddin has said.
He said trees were uprooted and thousands of poles collapsed that made the transformer inoperative mode due to the cyclone. The power outage was caused by snapped power poles and uprooted trees falling on transmission lines. We are starting work to ensure power supply immediately after the storm ends.
According to the Power Division, the BREB has faced a loss of TK 91.20 crore and WZPDO Tk 576,75,500. The damage includes the destruction of 2,392 electric poles, 1,982 transformers, and 62,454 spans (wire strips) in 30 PBSs. Additionally, 21,848 insulators were broken, and 46,318 metres were destroyed. The total initial loss in these areas amounts to Tk 790.2 million (Tk 79.02 crore), with approximately 17.9 million (1.79 crore) BREB consumers remaining without electricity until 2:00 pm, according to the POwer Division.
In the West Zone Power Distribution Company (WZPDC) area, the cyclone destroyed 20 poles, tilted 135 poles, broke down 24.34 km of power cables, damaged 11 kV transformers, destroyed 142 pole fittings, 12 transformers, and 134 of 11 kV insulators. The total initial loss in the WZPDC area is Tk 57.6 million (Tk 5.76 crore). The cyclone left about 0.453 million (4.53 lakh) consumers in darkness in this region.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, the operation of LNG Terminals (FSRUs) remained normal, and no damage was reported.
The gas (RLNG) supply was increased to 1,000 MMCFD, with expectations to rise to 1,100 MMCFD on Monday.
About 700,000 residents in Satkhira have been without power since Sunday night due to the impact of Cyclone Remal, the official said. Shyamnagar, Kaliganj, and Assasuni upazilas have been particularly affected.The lack of electricity has also disrupted the mobile network also.According to a top official of the REB, these consumers are living in the areas belonging to 80, out of 81 Palli Biduyt Samities (PBSs).However, the General Manager of Satkhira Palli Bidyut Samity, Ziaur Rahman said electricity cables were snapped in many places due to the storm. "We have already restored power to many lines. The extent of the damage is yet to be ascertained," he added.
Motiar Rahman, assistant engineer of Satkhira West Zone Power Distribution Company, said "We have 56,000 customers. The power supply to the main transmission line was snapped after 11pm on Sunday as he added that they have been able to ensure electricity for 40,000 customers out of 56,000."
The Power Division official has said that Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) has switched off many power plants in the coastal areas. With the improvement of the situation, gradually the power transmission and distribution system will be checked and restored, he added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources took some measures, including opening control rooms yesterday, to deal with the cyclone.Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) has said that it cut electricity generation by more than half of its usual production, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power across the country."During the cyclone, many electric poles have been damaged across the country, mainly in Khulna and Barisal regions. After repairing the damages, the power supply will resume," said Shameem Hasan, the spokesperson of PDB.
