As the heat intensifies at the close of Chaitra, the power crisis is deepening across the country, particularly in rural areas, where power cuts are becoming more frequent.
Amid rising load shedding, another crisis has emerged – fuel shortages, exacerbated by the Middle East conflict – which is causing significant concern for farmers.
Electricity-driven irrigation pumps are struggling to operate continuously, and as an alternative, diesel pumps are also being shut down due to the lack of adequate fuel supply.
This disruption is severely affecting agricultural work, worsening the challenges faced by farmers.
The situation is expected to worsen with the onset of summer. As temperatures rise and the use of ceiling fans, air conditioners, and other cooling systems increases, electricity demand is set to spike.
This could lead to even more widespread power cuts, further aggravating the already dire situation.
Although the United States and Iran have agreed to a temporary ceasefire in the Mideast conflict, the soaring prices of fuel and gas are creating uncertainty over energy supply to power plants.
In particular, a reduced gas supply could make it extremely difficult to meet the increasing demand for electricity production.
According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the highest electricity demand on Tuesday reached 14,980 megawatts, resulting in load shedding of around 1,000 megawatts.
It is now feared that the electricity demand could exceed 18,000 megawatts this year, raising serious concerns about whether the energy supply will be sufficient to meet this demand.
Rampant load shedding disrupts daily life
Residents of various areas in Sylhet, including Ambarkhana, Upashahar, and Shahjalal Upashahar, are facing frequent power cuts, with up to four to five load shedding instances occurring each day.
The disruption has particularly irritated the local population, even during the weekend holidays last Friday and Saturday, when power outages persisted.
“Load shedding continues even late at night. Shopping malls are forced to close by 7pm,” Tuhin Ahmed, a resident of Ambarkhana, shared his frustration.
Abdul Kadir, head of Sylhet BPDB, told TIMES of Bangladesh that the shortage in power supply is due to irregular fuel supply, which has caused a gap in production.
In the Sylhet region, electricity demand currently stands at 170-175 megawatts, while supply is falling short by around 10 per cent.
In Magura, power outages were particularly severe last Saturday. From 6am to 2pm, at least six separate power cuts occurred in the district. Over the course of eight hours, residents were left without electricity for almost five of those hours.
In the village of Sajiara, poultry farmer Shamim Hossain explained the strain on his business, “In this intense heat, the frequent power cuts are causing my chickens to fall sick, and egg production has significantly decreased.”
Mohammad Mahitul Islam, general manager of the District Palli Bidyut Samiti, reported that the demand in Magura on Friday was 63 megawatts, but they only received 36, leading to a shortfall of 27 megawatts.
In Jashore, residents are now facing scheduled load shedding three times a day, with each power cut lasting for an hour.
While the situation in Munshiganj’s district town remains stable, areas such as Tongibari, Sirajdikhan, Louhjong, Gajaria, and Shreenagar are experiencing intermittent power outages.
In Narsingdi, Mohammad Abdul Quddus, general manager of Narsingdi Palli Bidyut Samiti-2, revealed that the district’s demand for electricity stands at 190 megawatts. However, this week, they are only receiving 15 megawatts less.
Meanwhile, in Jhenaidah, the power cuts are more severe, with outages occurring in three to four separate periods, amounting to at least 5 to 6 hours of load shedding each day.
Intensifying pressure on agricultural
Amid frequent load shedding, farmers are struggling to operate diesel-powered irrigation pumps due to widespread diesel shortages. Filling stations across the country are unable to meet the high demand for fuel, leaving farmers with little choice but to scale back their operations.
In Jhenaidah, farmers report that while they need between 10 to 15 litres of diesel per day for irrigation, they are only able to access 2 to 4 litres from local filling stations. With the Boro paddy season in full swing, this fuel shortage is threatening crop production, as irrigation plays a critical role during this period.
Kamrul Islam, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Jhenaidah, told TIMES, “The rice has started flowering. If irrigation continues smoothly for the next 15 to 20 days, we will meet the production target.”
In Rajshahi, farmers have resorted to carrying shallow machines to filling stations in a desperate bid to secure fuel.
On Saturday afternoon, more than 50 farmers were seen taking this unusual step at the Sohail Filling Station in the Bagmara upazila. Authorities later ensured the farmers received their much-needed diesel.
Abdur Rashid, a farmer from Char Khanpur in Paba, said, “The Boro crops are drying out. I haven’t been able to water the rice fields for the past five or six days.”
In Munshiganj, the potato cold storages are also facing difficulties, with 61 cold storage units in the area.
Mango farmers are similarly concerned about the impact of fuel shortages on their crops. Timely spraying of pesticides and fungicides is critical for protecting mango buds, controlling diseases, and warding off pests. However, due to a lack of fuel for their modern petrol- and diesel-powered spraying machines, this essential task is being delayed.
Fuel shortage strains power generation
In Tangail, the Palli Power Generation Limited plant, which once produced up to 22 megawatts of electricity, has seen its output plummet to just 6.7 megawatts due to an ongoing fuel shortage. This represents a shortfall of 15.3%, highlighting the severe impact of the crisis on power production.
The power station, which was commissioned commercially in December 2020, runs on furnace oil.
According to a plant official, two of the facility’s four engines have been shut down. To maintain full production, the plant requires 130,000 litres of fuel per day. Despite having a reserve of 350,000 litres as of last Saturday, the government has imposed restrictions, limiting daily fuel consumption to no more than 30,000 litres.
The crisis is not limited to oil-fired plants. Gas-based power plants are also struggling due to fuel shortages.
Internal analysis from BPDB has indicated that to meet the power demand this summer, at least 1,200 million cubic feet of gas is required to run gas-based power plants. However, this amount has never been supplied in full.
In March, Petrobangla supplied between 80 to 82 crore cubic feet of gas, falling short of the 100 crore cubic feet demand. Petrobangla had initially promised 87 crore cubic feet.
Additionally, shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and Oman have been delayed due to tensions in Iran, further exacerbating the crisis. As domestic production declines and long-term supply disruptions persist, the cost of purchasing additional gas on the spot market at higher prices has raised concerns over the financial strain on the sector.
Zahurul Islam, a board member of BPDB, said, “We are currently producing about 5,000 megawatts of electricity from gas. There is a slight chance of increasing this output. Coal-based plants are generating around 3,000 megawatts, and this could potentially reach 5,000 megawatts.”
However, several coal-based power plants, including the Rampal plant, are currently offline, and there is no electricity coming from India’s Adani Group. Moreover, the Matarbari coal plant is facing a shortage of fuel as well.
Zahurul remains hopeful that the coal supply shortage may ease between the 15th and 20th of this month, allowing for some improvement in power generation.
On the other hand, BPDB is planning to generate between 3,000 and 3,500 megawatts from oil-based plants. However, the major challenge with this approach is the significant rise in operational costs.
