Two engineers suspended over grid failure

The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) has suspended two engineers over the blackout that impacted large swathes of Bangladesh on October 4, said PGCB spokesperson ABM Badruddoza.

The two officials are Allama Hasan Bakhtiar, sub-divisional assistant engineer, SPMD PGCB, and Md Mostafizur Rahman, assistant engineer, SPMD PGCB, confirmed Badruddoza on Sunday evening.

Earlier the same day, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told reporters that anyone else who had involvement in the matter will be identified within a week.

Providing more details, Nasrul added, “Three committees were formed to identify the cause behind the grid failure on October 4. We now have the report prepared by the PGCB investigation committee.

“Through this report we learned that the PGCB has been negligent in fulfilling its duties. We have identified two officers among them.”

On October 4, Bangladesh suffered its worst blackout in 10 years, which was blamed on a “technical glitch.” Parts of the country – Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and Mymensingh – plunged into darkness as soon as dusk fell after the national grid tripped at 2:05pm.

Electricity began to trickle back around 6pm. The power supply was restored in some parts of Dhaka city under Maniknagar and Hasnabad grid substations, and also a good number of districts under Sylhet, Chattogram and Mymensingh by 7 pm.

By 10:30pm, electricity was back in all parts of the country.

The repercussions of the sudden disruption could be felt everywhere – readymade garment factories suspended production, internet and mobile networks were interrupted, hospitals were in disarray, CNG sales were stopped at fuel pumps and water supply was dwindling.

After the grid failure, daily load shedding totaling nearly 5-6 hours continues in the eastern region, including in the capital city of Dhaka.