People in Khulna are facing severe power outages throughout the day and night, with frequent load shedding disrupting daily life amid persistent humid heat.
On August 12, the West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCL) faced a 103-megawatt power shortfall across its service area, including 63 megawatts in the Khulna zone alone.
The situation was worse the previous day. On August 11, demand in the WZPDCL service area stood at 807 megawatts against a supply of 578 megawatts, leaving a deficit of 229 megawatts. The Khulna zone alone faced 155 megawatts of load shedding, including a 60-megawatt shortfall in Khulna district and the city.
According to WZPDCL’s control room, demand on August 12 was 789 megawatts, while supply stood at 686 megawatts.
Earlier, on August 10, demand was 770 megawatts against a supply of 619 megawatts, resulting in a deficit of 151 megawatts.
Power sector officials said reduced electricity generation in the national grid was responsible for the shortage. They said area-based load shedding would continue until power generation and supply improve.
The prolonged outages have caused widespread suffering, particularly at night. Residents said power cuts lasting for hours were making it difficult to sleep and cope with the humid heat, while mosquito infestations had also worsened.
Media worker Sohag Dewan said the load shedding was particularly severe overnight.
“Unable to tolerate the heat, I left home for the office in the early hours of the morning. But there was no electricity there either,” he said.
Sohag Asif, a resident of Khalishpur, said power was going out repeatedly throughout the day and night.
“The electricity keeps coming and going. The humid heat has made life extremely difficult,” he said. “Power cuts late at night and in the early morning are disrupting our sleep, and the mosquito problem has also increased.”
Students are also struggling to continue their studies because of the frequent outages.
Nazia Sultana, a student from Sonadanga, said repeated power cuts were disrupting her studies, assignments and other academic work.
“It is difficult to concentrate when the electricity goes out repeatedly,” she said. “Studying in this heat is particularly challenging. When the power goes out while studying something important, I have to stop and then spend time regaining my focus after it returns.”
Umme Rayhana Jahan, a student from Tetultala, said the situation had become a constant cycle of electricity coming and going.
“It feels like we are playing hide-and-seek with electricity,” she said. “The power returns and goes out again shortly afterwards. This is disrupting both our daily lives and studies. Online classes and regular nighttime study have become difficult.”
She said power outages were also affecting cooking, meals and other household activities. In some cases, water was unavailable in washrooms because electricity was needed to operate pumps.
WZPDCL Chief Engineer Md Abdul Majid said the shortage was due to inadequate supply against demand.
“Supply is lower than demand, which is why there is a power shortage,” he said, expressing hope that the situation would improve soon.