Illuminated buildings centring Eid worsen load shedding in Sylhet city amid rising heat

Representational Image. Photo: Bing AI

In the recent past, it has been observed that villages bear the brunt of load shedding. 

This is not the case in the Sylhet Division, where Sylhet city is being hit harder by blackouts.

And one of the culprits identified is illuminated buildings, decorated with lights for Eid. 

For the past few days, even half of the electricity demand in Sylhet's urban areas is not being met. As a result, the city dwellers have to brave through hours of blackouts amid a coming excessive heat set for tomorrow, according to weather.com. 

Although a heat alert has not been issued for Sylhet, unlike Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Rajshahi – where temperatures are expected to soar to 40°C – the 32°C there is worsened by the lack of electricity. 

Traders have also complained about how the hours of load shedding have hit sales.

Analysts said due to the sudden increase in heat, there has also been a spike in demand for electricity, especially in different shopping malls. This has resulted in more load shedding.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) has 450,000 customers in Sylhet, of whom around 200,000 dwell in the city. 

According to PDB Sylhet office sources, electricity demand in Sylhet was 144 megawatts this afternoon, of which 70MW was supplied. 

Customers have reported that load shedding has increased since the beginning of this month. 

Malay Dutt Mithu, a shopkeeper in Jindabazar area of the city, said usually business picked up during this time, but due to load shedding, most customers stayed away. 

Hour-long blackouts have become common occurrences, taking place eight to ten times throughout the day. 

Rokhsana Khanam, a resident of Jatarpur area of the city, said there is load shedding during Sehri and Iftar as well, which was worsened by the heat. 

"It's absolutely miserable. I don't know what will happen when it gets even warmer," she said.

Amid the continuous blackouts, many residents blocked the Osmani Nagar road in protest on Tuesday night. On the day, the demand was 141MW, but the supply was only 56MW.

Earlier in the night, a PDB official was also assaulted at his office in South Surma. 

The PDB, meanwhile, has asked customers for their patience.

Abdul Qadir, chief engineer of the PDB (Sylhet),  said due to the Eid season, many buildings had been illuminated. As a result, the demand for electricity in the city has increased. 

In addition, the heat has increased a lot. 

At the same time, production had fallen. He expressed fear that load shedding would worsen if the heat increased further.

Meanwhile, the picture in rural areas is starkly different.

Electricity supply in rural areas has been stable. 

General Manager of Sylhet Palli Bidyut Samity-1 Akhtaruzzaman Lashkar said this afternoon, that the demand in the area under his jurisdiction was 64MW and supply was 53MW megawatts. 

On the other hand, General Manager of Sylhet Palli Bidyut Samiti-2 Sanjib Kumar Roy said against the demand of 27MW, the supply was 23 megawatts.

Deepak Dev, a customer of Rampasha area, said electricity goes off when it starts to rain. 

He, however, said there was no electricity at all during some nights.