Power crisis deepens, load shedding hits record

Published : Monday, 10 August, 2026 at 6:40 PM

Observer Online Desk

Collected Photo

Bangladesh is experiencing its worst load-shedding in recent days, with power shortages reaching 3,671 megawatts at 3pm on Sunday as gas and coal supply constraints, coupled with reduced power imports from India, put severe pressure on the country's electricity system. In many areas outside Dhaka, consumers are reportedly going without electricity for up to 10 hours a day amid a heatwave.

According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB), the country’s electricity generation has fallen significantly due to shortages of gas and coal. The situation has been further aggravated by reduced power generation by the Adani Group’s power plant in India.

The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) said electricity demand stood at 16,059 megawatts at 3pm Sunday, while supply was only 12,388 megawatts, resulting in a deficit of 3,671 megawatts. By 5pm, generation increased to around 13,000 megawatts, but load-shedding still stood at 2,967 megawatts.

PDB officials said Adani Power’s supply had suddenly dropped by around half. While the plant usually supplies around 1,600 megawatts during peak hours, it supplied only 815 megawatts at 5pm Sunday. Adani reportedly told PDB that adverse weather had disrupted coal transportation, reducing its coal stock and forcing the plant to cut generation. PDB officials, however, said they could not independently verify the claim.

Apart from Adani, several coal-fired power plants are also generating less electricity due to coal shortages and mechanical problems. These include plants at Barapukuria, Barishal Electric Power Company, Matarbari, Payra, Rampal, S Alam Group’s SS Power and RNPCL.

One unit of the Payra power plant remained shut until Sunday evening and was reportedly brought back into operation at night. The plant, which has a total capacity of 1,320 megawatts, was generating only around 710 megawatts. The Bangladesh-India Maitree Power Plant was generating 1,165 megawatts from its two units, while SS Power was producing around 1,163 megawatts against its capacity of 1,320 megawatts.

The gas shortage has also severely affected electricity generation. The power sector requires more than 1 billion cubic feet of gas a day, but current supply is around 700 million cubic feet. As a result, gas-fired power plants are generating at least 2,000 megawatts less than their potential.

At 5pm Sunday, gas-fired plants generated around 3,589 megawatts against a capacity of about 10,000 megawatts. Oil-fired plants generated around 2,000 megawatts, despite having a generation capacity of more than 5,000 megawatts.

PDB said gas shortages had reduced generation by at least 2,000 megawatts, while coal shortages and other problems had cut coal-based generation by at least another 1,000 megawatts. The combined shortfall of around 3,000 megawatts has resulted in severe load-shedding across the country.

Meanwhile, gas supplies from floating LNG terminals may increase soon. A fire at US company Excelerate Energy’s floating LNG terminal on July 21 reduced gas supply by around 510 million cubic feet per day, triggering a nationwide gas shortage and affecting industrial and power generation.

After repairs, the terminal resumed partial gas supply on the night of August 5. At 6pm Sunday, the country’s two floating LNG terminals were supplying 757 million cubic feet of gas, compared with around 1.1 billion cubic feet previously.

Officials concerned said Excelerate Energy could resume full gas supply after 11pm Monday if everything goes according to plan, although the timing is not certain. Full resumption could raise the country’s total gas supply to around 2.65 billion cubic feet per day.

-HIS