10-15 days more for load-shedding to ease

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has admitted that power outages have reached an intolerable level across the country, and hopes that the crisis will be resolved within the next 10-15 days.

“Most of the power plants are running at half capacity due to fuel shortages,” he told reporters at the secretariat on Sunday.

Nasrul added that the government is trying to ensure the gas, coal and liquid fuel supply to the power plants.

Due to the coal shortage, Payra and Barapukuria power plants are generating electricity at half capacity.  Besides, liquid fuel-based power plants are also now partially operational, he said.

Mentioning that the Power Division is monitoring the situation, Nasrul said particularly the condition in Dhaka and its adjacent areas have worsened. The state minister expressed regret to the countrymen for the ongoing power outages.

On Saturday, Nasrul said the country was witnessing 1,700 MW of load-shedding currently.

Due to the power generation disruption, a large part of the country is not getting the required amount of electricity, causing public suffering amidst the ongoing heatwave. He also said the Payra power plant will shut down completely from June 5 due to the coal shortage.