On February 28, a global fuel crisis erupted following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Due to shortage of coal, gas and fuel oil, it has not been possible to generate electricity as per the demand in the country.
PDB sources said that today (Wednesday) the maximum demand for electricity reached 15,690 MW. Due to the difference between demand and production, load shedding of about 2,500 MW had to be done during this period. As the heat increased from noon onwards, load shedding also started increasing. This may increase further during peak demand hours at night.
PDB member Zahurul Islam said efforts were being made to increase power generation from furnace oil-based power plants. Operating a diesel based plant is also being considered.
According to Power Grid Bangladesh PLC (PGCB), there are 136 power plants in the country. Of these, 13 are out of production due to gas shortage, 9 due to fuel oil shortage and 8 due to maintenance work.
Of the remaining plants, there are 17 solar plants, which do not generate electricity at night. Five diesel based plants have also been kept closed due to high costs. The gas based generation capacity is currently 12,200 MW, but due to shortage of gas only about 5,200 MW can be generated.