Country experiencing over 2000MW load shedding
This situation might continue till 16 May, until Cyclone Mocha is over, said sources at Power Division.
Due to gas supply suspension from the floating LNG terminal, electricity production drastically fell resulting in countrywide load shedding to the tune of over 2000 MW on Saturday.
As a precaution of Cyclone Mocha, gas supply from floating LNG terminals was suspended at 11pm on Friday (May 12) and took the floating regasification facilities to the deep sea.
Before the supply suspension, around 650 million cubic feet of gas from the LNG terminals was added to the national grid that transmitted 2760.4 mmcf of gas on Thursday.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
But due to a fall in gas supply, electricity production has got a big hit that has impacted power supply across the country, particularly in Chattogram, Cumilla and Dhaka.
From morning to mid-day, city dwellers in Dhaka faced load shedding for hours multiple times.
Sources at the Bangladesh Power Development Board, said electricity generation from the gas based power plants has decreased to around 3,000 over gas, coal and liquid fuel shortage.
On Monday, the country produced around 5,420MW electricity from gas based power plants which dropped to 4,000MW on Saturday.
Due to the natural calamities, the power division now eying to keep the production minimum 9500MW though the demand is around 15000 MW.
This situation might continue till 16 May, until Cyclone Mocha is over, said sources at the Power Division.
Because of the lower production, electricity distribution companies in Dhaka and other parts of the country are also receiving a lesser amount of electricity.
Bikash Dewan, managing director at Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited, the state-owned utility that supplies electricity to a part of Dhaka and Narayanganj, said DPDC faced a shortage of 500MW of electricity compared to 1700MW daily demand.
"Therefore, we are balancing the supply shortage with area wise load shedding," he added.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited, another state-owned utility that supplies electricity to Northern Dhaka and Tongi, also has a shortage of around 300 MW of electricity.
In a notice, the Power Division said that due to LNG supply suspension gas-powered power plants in Chittagong, Meghnaghat, Haripur, and Siddhirganj areas may remain closed or operate partially.
Regretting the temporary inconvenience, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said that gas and power supply in the region will become normal very soon.
