Power outages intensified across the southwestern region yesterday as load shedding reached 185 megawatts (MW) in 21 districts under the jurisdiction of the West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCL), causing widespread suffering for consumers.
According to WZPDCL sources, electricity demand in its service area stood at 827MW on June 16 against a supply of 642MW, leaving a deficit of 185MW that had to be managed through load shedding.
Residents complained of frequent power cuts throughout the day.
Md Shamim, a resident of Karimnagar in Khulna, said power outages had been occurring almost every hour since Tuesday morning, causing discomfort, particularly for children.
Ajmal Huda of Tutpara said the power situation had deteriorated sharply after remaining stable during and immediately after the Eid holidays.
Seeking anonymity, officials at the WZPDCL control room attributed the increased load shedding to lower electricity generation and reduced power allocation.
Among the affected districts, Khulna experienced the highest load shedding at 57MW, followed by Barisal at 27MW, Kushtia at 17MW, Jhenaidah at 13MW, Rajbari at 12MW, Faridpur at 10MW, and Chuadanga at 9MW. Smaller deficits were recorded in Satkhira, Magura, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Gopalganj, Jhalokati, Pirojpur, Patuakhali, Barguna, and Bhola.
In the 10 districts under the Khulna Zone, demand reached 646MW against a supply of 506MW, resulting in 140MW of load shedding. In the Barisal Zone, demand stood at 181MW while supply was 136MW, leading to a shortfall of 45MW.
The worsening power crisis has disrupted normal life and business activities across the region, with consumers expressing concern over the increasing frequency of outages.