Load-shedding soars as Payra, Adani supplies fall

A deepening gas shortage, reduced coal-fired generation and lower power imports from India have pushed Bangladesh into one of its most severe spells of load-shedding in recent days, with the national power shortfall soaring to around 3,200 megawatts (MW) on Sunday.

The worsening crisis has left people in several parts of the country without electricity for hours at a stretch, disrupting households, agriculture, businesses, industries and essential services. In some areas, consumers say power has remained unavailable for up to 12 to 16 hours a day.

Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) data shows the national power shortage rose sharply from 335MW on August 6 to 740MW on August 7, 2,167MW on August 8 and around 3,200MW on August 9.
Industry insiders, however, said actual load-shedding had exceeded 4,000MW at times.

“As the temperature rose on Sunday, the public suffered unprecedented power outages. People are facing load-shedding throughout the day and night without any fixed schedule,” a senior official said, preferring anonymity.

The immediate pressure on the power system has been compounded by the disruption at the Maheshkhali LNG terminal, which has not yet fully resumed operations. Gas supply to the national grid, which was around 2,650 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) before the July 21 fire at the terminal, fell to about 2,120MMcfd.

Supply has since recovered to around 2,350MMcfd, but remains far below the daily demand of about 3,800MMcfd.

The damaged terminal is currently supplying around 280MMcfd of gas. Authorities said a second boiler becoming operational could add approximately 300MMcfd to the grid.

The gas shortage has directly hit power generation. Plants that previously received around 990-1,000MMcfd of gas are now getting about 680MMcfd. Consequently, gas-fired plants that previously generated 5,000-6,000MW are now producing around 3,500MW on average.

The situation has been further aggravated by problems at the coal-based Payra Power Plant, where one unit remains shut due to mechanical faults, leaving the plant generating only around 500-550MW. Supply from India’s Adani power plant has also decreased.

According to power sector data, demand at 7:30pm on Sunday was around 17,000MW, with 2,437MW load-shed. Earlier, at 3pm, demand stood at 16,051MW and a record 3,671MW had to be load-shed. The previous highest load-shedding was 3,512MW on August 3 at 1am.

PDB officials said demand is normally lower in the morning, resulting in comparatively less load-shedding. But the shortage remained severe on Sunday, with 3,312MW load-shed against demand of 15,735MW at noon. At midnight on Saturday, 3,608MW was load-shed against the same level of demand.

“We did not see any difference in peak and off-peak hours as temperature soars. If rains come, the situation would be comfortable,” the official added.

According to the Power Development Board (PDB), the gas shortage has kept gas-fired power plants below their previous generation levels, forcing greater reliance on coal and expensive furnace-oil-fired plants.
The crisis is being felt particularly severely in Rangpur, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Mymensingh and Barishal divisions.

In seven unions of Rajshahi’s Bagha upazila, frequent outages have disrupted agricultural activities, businesses and students’ studies. Locals said electricity was unavailable for nearly 12 hours a day in some areas.

In Abhaynagar of Jashore, prolonged outages have hit poultry farms. More than 400 chickens died at a farm in Buikra village of Nawapara municipality on Saturday morning after around eight hours without electricity. Farmers said the chickens died amid intense heat and prolonged power cuts.

In Patuakhali’s Kalapara, the crisis has disrupted ice production at the Alipur-Mahipur fish landing centre, leaving hundreds of fishing trawlers anchored while waiting for ice. A can of ice that normally costs Tk 150 is now selling for Tk 300, fishermen said.

Consumers in Kurigram and Sunamganj are also struggling with prolonged unscheduled outages. In rural areas of Sunamganj, people reported being without electricity for up to 16 hours a day, while in Kurigram the outages have disrupted commercial production and household activities.

In Rangpur, frequent outages have disrupted businesses and hampered hospital and clinic services, with children and elderly people suffering in the heat. Small power-dependent factories have also faced production disruptions.

In Sylhet, the national grid supplied only 181MW against a demand of 224MW on Saturday, leaving a 43MW shortfall and forcing phased load-shedding across parts of the city and district.

The situation in Narayanganj’s Bandar area has also been described as critical. Local MP Advocate Abul Kalam said load-shedding was occurring three to four times an hour and urged the authorities to ensure a planned schedule if outages were unavoidable.

With gas supply still substantially below demand and several sources of power generation operating below capacity, the electricity shortage has spread beyond routine load-shedding, putting increasing pressure on households and economic activities across the country.