Life in Sylhet was disrupted on Saturday by intense heat and frequent power outages, as load shedding swept across different parts of the district from the morning. Later in the afternoon, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) officially announced scheduled load shedding in various areas.
The power cuts came on the same day Sylhet recorded its highest temperature of the year at 37.2 degrees Celsius, worsening hardships for residents, particularly day labourers, children, the elderly and those with health conditions.
According to the BPDB, daily electricity demand in Sylhet Division ranges between 180 and 200 megawatts (MW). On Saturday, however, only 160 MW – around 20 per cent below demand – was supplied. In Sylhet district alone, demand stood at 150 MW, while supply was limited to 120 MW.
Frequent power outages began across Sylhet city and different parts of the district from Saturday morning. Residents endured power cuts almost every hour, causing widespread inconvenience.
As temperatures continued to rise throughout the day, many people chose to remain indoors. But relief was scarce, with electricity remaining unavailable for anywhere between 30 minutes and two hours at a time, disrupting normal activities in homes, businesses and offices.
Although electricity supply had been fluctuating since the morning, BPDB’s Sylhet Sales and Distribution Divisions 1 and 2 formally announced load shedding around 3pm. In notices posted on their Facebook pages, the divisions said the measure had become necessary because electricity supplied from the national grid was below demand.
They added that normal supply would resume once adequate electricity became available. Mohammad Imam Hossain, chief engineer of BPDB’s Sylhet region, said there had been no load shedding over the past two to three days, but a supply shortfall had re-emerged on Saturday.
“We are receiving around 20 per cent less electricity than required, forcing us to implement load shedding,” he said.
Asked when the situation might improve, he said it depended entirely on the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC).
“We are distributing only the amount of electricity allocated to us by the centre,” he added. Meanwhile, the Sylhet Meteorological Office recorded a maximum temperature of 37.2 degrees Celsius between 6am and 6pm on Saturday, the highest this year.
Assistant Meteorologist Shah Md Sajib Hossain said temperatures could ease if the low-pressure area over the northwestern Bay of Bengal intensified into a depression.
He also forecast rain or thundershowers accompanied by gusty winds in different parts of Sylhet.
