The government has decided to introduce load-shedding in urban areas as well in a bid to reduce the disparity between electricity supply to rural and city areas, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit told the parliament today.
“It is not desirable that urban residents remain comfortable while rural people suffer. The spirit of the July Uprising calls for a discrimination-free Bangladesh. There should be no disparity between urban and rural areas. To eliminate this gap, we have decided to enforce load-shedding in cities if necessary, so that farmers in the villages can get adequate electricity for irrigation,” he said while speaking under Rule 300 in the Jatiya Sangsad.
Following discussions with the leader of the opposition, the government has decided to conduct an initial trial of 110 megawatts (MW) of load-shedding in Dhaka, he said, adding that the country’s peak electricity demand yesterday was 16,000 megawatts, against which generation reached 14,126 megawatts, forcing authorities to shed 2,086 megawatts of load.
The state minister said Adani power plant in India and a coal-fired plant (SS Power) are currently unable to operate at full capacity due to maintenance issues. Both plants are expected to return to full production soon, which, he hoped, would reduce the extent of load-shedding within the next seven days.
Acknowledging public suffering amid the ongoing heatwave, he said the crisis is not a short-term issue but the result of accumulated problems. He added that despite higher installed capacity on paper, there remains a mismatch with actual generation.
He said the government has prioritised uninterrupted power supply for irrigation during the current harvest season. However, load-shedding persists in some areas due to fuel supply constraints.
He further said the government has been consulting all stakeholders, including the opposition, to ensure stable electricity supply.
Addressing concerns over under-utilisation of power plants, he said Bangladesh’s daily gas demand stands at 3,800 million cubic feet, while domestic production is 1,616 million cubic feet and imports account for 950 million cubic feet — leaving a daily shortfall of 1,164 million cubic feet.
“Even if we have the financial capacity, it is not possible to increase gas imports immediately due to infrastructure limitations,” he said, adding that expanding infrastructure is among the government’s top priorities under its 180-day action plan, and visible progress is expected soon.