The power crisis has intensified due to reduced electricity generation caused by a shortage of fuel, resulting in widespread load-shedding across both urban and rural areas during a period of extreme heat.

Rural communities are bearing the brunt of this crisis as authorities focus on maintaining power in major cities to prevent public unrest.

The situation is further exacerbated by scorching temperatures,reaching up to 38.5 degrees Celsius in recent days, making life extremely difficult for ordinary citizens.

The previous Awami League government's focus on building power plants without ensuring adequate fuel supplies or considering actual demand has created a costly legacy.

Many plants are often idle, leading to increased costs for consumers and the government. Despite having ample power generation capacity, Bangladesh has been facing load-shedding for the past three years, especially during hot weather.

The current interim government has inherited this issue. Insufficient fuel has further worsened the situation, with load-shedding exceeding 2,000 megawatts on this Monday and power outages lasting up to 10 hours in some rural areas.

The closure of a major LNG terminal, unpaid bills to suppliers like Adani, and financial difficulties for private oil-based power plants have all contributed to the problem.

The main reasons behind load-shedding

Experts concerned said, the core issue is a mismatch between supply and demand, exacerbated by mismanagement and financial constraints.

The focus on building plants without securing fuel or considering demand has created a situation where the country has the capacity to generate enough electricity but cannot fully utilize it.

The current government is grappling with the fallout, implementing load-shedding as a temporary measure to manage the shortfall.

Bangladesh currently faces a significant shortfall in its gas supply. The daily demand is 380 crore cubic feet, but the supply is only 300 crore cubic feet.

This shortage has been aggravated by the closure of one of the two LNG terminals,further reducing the supply to 260 crore cubic feet.

This reduced gas supply has severely affected the power sector, where gas availability has dropped to 82 crore cubic feet per day, leading to a reduction in electricity generation from 6,500 megawatts to 5,000 megawatts.

Moreover, the Adani power plant in India, which was supposed to supply 1,500 megawatts, has reduced production to 1,000 megawatts due to disruptions in coal import caused by outstanding bills. The pressure to clear these dues is mounting.

The combined effect of reduced gas supply and pressure from unpaid bills has negatively impacted electricity production.

Why rural areas bore the brunt most?

When electricity production falls short, load-shedding is primarily targeted at rural areas. However, if the deficit is substantial, the capital city, Dhaka, is also affected.

On Monday, both DPDC and DESCO, responsible for Dhaka's power supply, implemented 100 megawatts of load-shedding each, along with some additional unscheduled outages.

While urban areas outside Dhaka also experience load-shedding, it is far more severe in rural areas served by rural electricity cooperatives. On Monday, the power supply was 20-25% below demand, necessitating an average of 2,000 megawatts of load-shedding.

In some areas, the shortfall exceeded 50%, resulting in power outages for almost half the day, particularly in the Mymensingh and Comilla regions.

The Mymensingh division, including four districts, Kishoreganj, and Tangail, faced a significant power deficit. Last night at 8:30 PM, the demand was 1,162 megawatts, but only 932 megawatts were available, highlighting the severity of the shortfall.

In Mymensingh, the situation is so dire that residents experience a cycle of one hour of electricity followed by one hour of load-shedding, according to Anita Bardhan, DGM of Mymensingh Rural Electricity Cooperative-3.

Similarly, the Comilla region, with an average demand of 1,550 megawatts, received only 800 megawatts in the morning and 1,200 megawatts in the evening.

Comilla Rural Electricity Cooperative-2, with an average demand of 65 megawatts,is only receiving 35 to 40 megawatts, illustrating the severe power deficit.

The impact of these power shortages is acutely felt in rural areas. Helal Uddin, a resident of Monohorgonj Upazila in Comilla, describes a situation where they receive electricity for an average of only 14 hours a day, highlighting the ongoing struggle faced by people in these areas due to persistent load-shedding.

The dire aftermath of rental power plants

To address widespread load-shedding, the caretaker government in 2007 initiated the construction of rental power plants.

After the Awami League assumed power in 2009, the pace of power plant construction accelerated significantly. The Electricity and Fuel Supply Rapid Enhancement (Special Provisions) Act-2010, also known as the Immunity Act, was enacted

This legislation allowed for the construction of power plants without competitive bidding. Initially, various business sectors were involved in these projects, but over time, Awami League leaders began to take ownership of the power plants. Additionally, electricity imports from India began in the fiscal year 2013-14.

In the span of fifteen years, electricity production capacity has grown more than fivefold, while actual production has increased 3.6 times. However, the rental costs for these power plants have surged sixteen fold.

Experts argue that during the Awami League's 15 and a half years in power, numerous unnecessary power plants were built mainly to benefit certain groups.

During this period, electricity production capacity expanded from 5,000 to nearly 28,000 megawatts—almost double the demand. Yet, approximately half of this capacity remains unused, and the cost of maintaining this idle capacity, known as capacity charges, still has to be covered.

Mizanur Rahman, former member (Electricity) of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), told Bangla Outlook that the demand in 2021 was projected to be 14,500 megawatts.

This projection was largely accurate, with a 25 percent excess capacity expected to reach 18,000 megawatts. In reality, the capacity hit 22,000 megawatts in 2021.

Mizanur also said that power plants have been contracted at varying rates, and some have successfully negotiated increases to their rental fees.

Critically, he pointed out, these rental fees are stipulated in US dollars, and the dollar's appreciation from 80 to 120 taka over the past two years has inflated the Power Development Board's costs by 40 percent. 

“If rental fees for power plants without foreign loans were denominated in taka instead of dollars, the cost increase would not have been so significant. Revising these contracts could potentially lead to substantial savings for the BPDB,” he asserted.

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