Businesses hit hard

Some regions in the country, including the capital and Chattogram, witnessed power outages for several hours after 2pm on Tuesday due to a technical glitch in the national grid.     

Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) formed a five-member committee to investigate the reason behind the grid failure.

Yakub Elahi Chowdhury, executive director of PGCB, would lead the investigation, said its Public Relations Officer Badruddoza Sumon, reports UNB. 

The blackout severely disrupted citizens’ daily lives for four to five hours. There were disruptions to internet, mobile phone, water supply, and hospital services.

The government data shows the country’s peak power demand on Tuesday was 3 per cent higher than the 13,800MW forecast earlier this week by the Bangladesh Power Development Board, CNN reports. 

Manufacturers were among those worst-affected by the power outages. Several businessmen told The Business Post the blackout had resulted in severe losses but they were yet to estimate the amount.

Residents in different areas of Dhaka said they suffered a lot as the water supply was disrupted during the outage. They said they could not cook and also faced problems in doing other household tasks because of the lack of water.    

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority said it was forced to close many pumps during the blackout, which disrupted the water supply in the city.

Street lights did not turn on in different areas of Dhaka after sunset. As a result, the streets remained dark. There was no light in Bir Uttam Kazi Nuruzzaman Road, Green Road, Indira Road, Khamarbari Road, and Manik Mia Avenue around 6:30pm.

The darkness was partially removed by the lights of vehicles. The shops and businesses in these areas were closed as it was Tuesday.

All offices and factories were powered by generators to handle the emergency. People rushed to refuelling stations in different areas of Dhaka to buy diesel.

Patients in several hospitals in Dhaka and Chattogram suffered, but no major problems were reported. Hospitals ran on generators to provide services in different wards. Telecommunication and internet services in major parts of the country also faced disruptions.

The Power Division said electricity returned in some areas of Sylhet, Mymensingh, Chattogram and Dhaka divisions by 6pm. Also, power was restored in most areas in the capital when this report was filed.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid ordered the Power Division to form two committees to find out why the national grid tripped.

Nasrul wrote on Facebook in the evening the Power Division’s engineers were working tirelessly to solve the sudden crisis.

“Electricity supply has already been restored in some areas. Hopefully, the power supply will be normal in all areas as soon as possible.”

Before that, State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak wrote on Facebook the power supply situation could become normal by Tuesday night. He said electricity supply would be normal in all areas of Dhaka city by 8pm and that of Chattogram by 9pm.

The Power Division said the eastern part of the national grid (east part of the Jamuna River) tripped at 2:05pm.

Several officials of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, the country’s only electricity transmission company, told The Business Post the national grid could fail for various reasons.  Its Public Relations Officer Badruddoza said restoring power supply is a complicated process even if a blackout lasts for a few seconds. “It is not possible to say exactly when power supply will be restored. The cause of the national grid failure could not be confirmed.”

Managing Director of Dhaka Electric Supply Company Kawsar Amir Ali said power supply was restored at the Dhaka airport and Uttara areas around 5:30pm. “We hope to be able to restore power supply in our entire distribution area very soon.”

Electricity supply was restored in Siddhirganj, Kalyanpur, and Maniknagar under ​​Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) at the same time, said DPDC Managing Director Bikash Dewan. He also said power supply was restored but there might be slight instabilities.