Hours of daily load shedding across Bangladesh have sparked protests in multiple districts, with residents blocking roads, surrounding electricity offices, and staging demonstrations as prolonged power outages continue to disrupt households, businesses, agriculture, and education.
While electricity supply has remained relatively stable in parts of the capital, consumers in district towns and rural areas say frequent outages have become part of daily life, leaving millions struggling through one of the hottest periods of the year.
Over the past 2 months, protests over electricity shortages have been reported in Satkhira, Chandpur, Jamalpur, Tangail, Sirajganj, Kurigram, Sunamganj, Gaibandha, Naogaon, Kushtia, Barisal, and Patuakhali, reflecting growing public frustration over what residents describe as an increasingly unreliable power supply.
The issue has also reached parliament, where the government acknowledged that a combination of technical failures and fuel supply disruptions has reduced electricity generation.
Public anger escalated on June 24 when residents in Faridganj upazila of Chandpur allegedly assaulted a Rural Electrification Board employee following prolonged load shedding.
Four days later, protesters blocked the Dhaka-Tangail Highway, demanding uninterrupted electricity after weeks of recurring outages.
Electricity offices were also surrounded by demonstrators in Satkhira, Sirajganj and Gaibandha, while residents in Jamalpur staged road blockades. Human chains and protest rallies have been organized in Kurigram, Naogaon, Kushtia and other districts, with residents accusing authorities of failing to respond despite repeated complaints.
For many communities, the protests represent weeks of mounting frustration rather than isolated incidents.
Across the country, households describe a similar pattern of electricity cuts lasting several hours, often without notice.
In Satkhira, HSC exam candidate Rabeya Khatoon said repeated outages have made it increasingly difficult to prepare for examinations.
She also said that power goes out for hours every day. Students cannot concentrate, and the extreme heat makes studying almost impossible."
In Bagerhat, businessman Sk Masum said prolonged outages are damaging his business. "Frozen food melts and refrigerators stop working properly. Every day brings new financial losses."
In Jamalpur, resident Ekram Hossain said electricity comes and goes unpredictably. "We never know when the next blackout will happen. Sometimes electricity returns briefly before disappearing again."
Magura resident Fazle Karim said his family regularly loses sleep because outages often occur late at night.
Children and elderly family members suffer the most during these hot nights, he also said.
Farmer Abdul Quddus from Kurigram said unreliable electricity has disrupted irrigation. "Power cuts stop irrigation pumps repeatedly, making farming much more difficult."
In Sunamganj, farmer Shah Alam voiced similar concerns, adding that agriculture depends on electricity. "Every interruption delays irrigation and affects crop production."
Sirajganj businessman Ariful Islam said repeated appeals to local authorities produced little improvement. "People surrounded the electricity office because nobody was addressing our complaints."
University admission candidate Mehedi Hasan from Rajshahi said power cuts are affecting thousands of students. He also said that most students study at night, but frequent outages have made proper preparation impossible.
In Barisal, fish farmer Saiful Islam said electricity interruptions threaten aquaculture.
Aerators stop whenever electricity goes out, increasing the risk of fish mortality, he added.
Bangladesh has an installed grid-based electricity generation capacity of 28,919MW, according to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
Actual production, however, remains significantly lower because many power plants cannot operate at full capacity due to shortages of natural gas, coal and imported fuel, as well as maintenance shutdowns and financial constraints.
Power Grid Bangladesh PLC data shows electricity generation reached 16,082MW during the evening peak on June 29, while daytime generation stood at 14,671MW.
Summer demand typically ranges between 16,000MW and 17,000MW, leaving the system vulnerable to even minor disruptions.
Speaking in parliament, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said electricity generation had fallen by nearly 3,000MW because of mechanical faults at several power plants and delays in coal unloading caused by rough weather in the Bay of Bengal.
Talking to the media recently, BPDB Member Md Zahurul Islam said 2 power plants that had been offline have resumed operations.
He said: "Load shedding has declined over the past 2 days. According to our assessment, the remaining shortage is around 300 to 350MW."
He added that Petrobangla has increased gas supply following government directives, while generation from liquid fuel-fired plants has also been expanded.
Energy analysts argue that Bangladesh's recurring electricity shortages cannot be explained solely by seasonal demand.
Asked about the recent power situation, Professor M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said inadequate fuel supply remains the central challenge.
He said: "Electricity cannot be generated without fuel. Consumers continue paying higher tariffs and capacity charges, yet they are still facing prolonged load shedding."
He called for greater transparency and long-term reforms in the energy sector.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Prof Dr Md Iqbal Hossain of Buet said: "The current power crisis is not just a generation issue—it also reflects challenges in fuel supply, transmission efficiency and long-term energy planning."
Experts say Bangladesh will need to ensure reliable fuel supplies, expand domestic energy exploration, modernize transmission infrastructure, and accelerate investment in renewable energy if it hopes to reduce recurring seasonal power shortages.
Until then, recurring blackouts are likely to remain a source of growing public frustration, particularly outside the capital, where residents say they continue to bear the heaviest burden of the country's electricity crisis.