Stoves not burning, factories not running

Power generation capacity in Bangladesh is about 60 per cent more than the demand but load-shedding has been disrupting lives in and around Dhaka city very often in recent times.

The disruption is hampering production in factories while residential stoves are not burning due to lack of gas.

The Power Division has not acknowledged the fact of power interruption for the last several years but the division and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) are now conceding that it is happening.

In a post on his Facebook page on Sunday, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid confirmed that power generation was being disrupted due to gas shortages, which in turn is disturbing power supply in many places.

If gas supply returns to normal, power generation and supply will be normal again, he said.

As a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, the high price and disrupted supply of fuel in the international market have caused the problems like all other countries, Nasrul added.

“I sincerely apologize for your temporary inconvenience in this situation,” he said but did not say when approximately the crisis would be over.

Dhurjati Prasad Sen, a member (planning and development) of BPDB, said more than 1,500 mmcfd of gas is needed to smoothly run the gas-fired power plants but BPDB has received only 974 mmcfd.

Due to this, most of the high-efficiency combined cycle power plants are sitting idle, he added.

Businesses have also confirmed that the gas crisis has intensified in industrialized Gazipur and Narayanganj over the last 15 days. That is why the captive power generators of the factories are not able to generate electricity, which has severely disrupted production.

Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, told The Business Post, “The Narayanganj region is facing low pressure of gas because of an accident. It’s the same in Gazipur as well.”

Meanwhile, disruption in gas supply from Monday morning till noon was also reported from different areas of the capital city, including Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Gopibagh and Moghbazar.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division said the government had decided to bring less Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the spot market as the price has increased globally. As a result, the gas supply to the national grid has decreased.

According to the division, the daily demand is about 4,000 mmcfd of gas.

Domestic gas fields are now producing about 2,500 mmcfd of gas while 500 mmcfd is being imported under a long-term contract.

Rationing has been going on at the CNG filling stations for a long time to address the shortage.