“Why recently Bangladesh facing load shedding problem”

Currently, in Bangladesh load shedding has been going on for at least six to
seven hours a day all over the country. The power department faces a problem
filling the electricity demand in the country’s industrial smelters. Reporting to the
authoritarians is finding trouble to see the expenses due to the increase in the
cost of fuel in the world market for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which started
after the epidemic. For this reason, the energy patch has to hang big losses and
save money in the electricity patch.

Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury has said that “Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the
instability in the fuel oil market has affected many countries in the world including
Bangladesh. Due to this condition, area-wise load shedding started across the
country on Tuesday, July 19th [1]. The ministry said that with the decision of
area-wise load shedding, initiatives like intimating the customer in advance of the
areas where there will be load shedding, are being taken[2]. As a consequence,
many people took to the streets to escape from the intense heat. While certain
people have complained of trouble in the heat, some have applauded this
initiative of the authorities. This process started with load shedding in several
areas including Banshri-Azimpure in the capital in the morning[3]. Early, on July
6, the people of Bangladesh were called on to not light up various social
occasions, wedding functions, community centers, malls, office courts, and
houses to save electricity by Prime Minster Sheik Hasina in a press briefing on
the matter. The government also announced a slew of measures for saving
electricity, including the closure of shopping malls and markets by 8 pm and the
restricted use of air-conditioners. Plans are afoot to limit office hours and keep
fuel outlets closed one day every week. Despite having power in the middle of
the summer, this was the first time in history that any parliamentary body held a
meeting without air conditioning and lighting, according to sources at the
parliament secretariat.

According to the electricity department, Bangladesh currently has 25,566

megawatts of electricity generation capacity, including captive and renewable
energy. On April 16, the maximum electricity generated was 14,782 megawatts.
Now, it has come down to 12000-13000 megawatts. As a result, there is a daily
shortage of 1000-1500 megawatts of electricity. The calculations by the
Electricity Development Board of Bangladesh, 7.89% of the current electricity is
generated from coal, 50.84 % from gas, 28 % from furnace oil, and 6% from
diesel. To deal with this, the government is taking these initiatives[2]. "This cap is
being covered up by load shedding", said the BPDB official. Normally, the power
generation varies between 1300-1400 MW and the highest generation was
recorded at 14,782 MW on April 16 this year. However, many energy experts
don't trust the BPDB statistics. Rather they believe that the extent of the load
shedding and interruption in a power supply is more than the official figure.
"BPDB never provides an actual figure of its power supply scenario", said energy
expert and Consumers Association of Bangladesh's senior vice chairman Prof M
Shamsul Alam[3]. Only a few months ago, our energy security appeared within
reach and the leaders were leaning towards a transistor towards a cleaner
energy strategy. The country had previously in July 2021 canceled 10 coal-
powered power plant projects to reduce its future carbon footprint[2].

Bangladesh, like all other nations, will now need to pay greater attention to its
goal of energy security in light of the changing global economics and political
reality and carefully maintain the expenses of a speedy transistor to cleaner
conferees of energy. Anticipating, Bangladesh needs to take another glance at its
deep-rooted power strategy.

The dilemma for Bangladesh is multi-pronged. The coal-fired plants are facing
the loss of credit while the light LNG market is squeezing all energy out of our
aboard exchange reserves. The state minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy,
and Mineral Resources, however, explains optimism that a short-term idea to
extract 618 million additional gas from 46 wells in the country might bring some
changes in three years[2]. The government thinks maybe by doing this we can
overcome these problems through many energy experts do not agree with this
plan. Rather they are saying it can cause more problems in the power supply. As
a citizen of this country, we can only follow the rules and hope for a better future
for our country. Insha‘Allah, one day Bangladesh will conquer all the problems
and suffering of people.

References:
[1]https://www.thedailystar.net/environment/natural-resources/energy/news/
scheduled-power-cuts-bangladesh-experiences-1915-mw-load-shedding-day-1-
3074516. Thedaillystar.net 19 July 2022.
[2]https://www.newsclick.in/Bangladesh-Facing-Massive-Power-Shortage-
Nationwide-Scheduled-Load-Shedding. Newsclick.com 24 July 2022.

[3]https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/load-shedding-increases-due-to-
gas-shortages-in-power-plants-1656939273. Thefinancialexpress.com

4 July 2022.