The recent loadshedding situation in the country is caused by a fuel crisis, as Bangladesh is importing less LNG from the international spot-buying market as prices have gone too high.
The import of LNG came down to almost half recently as the price has gone up by more than $13 per unit, mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Bangladesh started importing liquified natural gas (LNG) under long-term agreements from Oman and Qatar in April 2018 since the domestic gas reserves are running out and there has been no effective progress in fuel exploration.
In such a situation, load shedding started across the country on a daily basis and it may increase further in the coming days.
The recent power cut is disrupting industrial production while common people are suffering due to the hot weather.
Several sources in the government said no prediction can be made about the ongoing fuel crisis being over soon. As a result, a shortage of electricity or load shedding might be a regular phenomenon in the coming days.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave instructions on this crisis at a program on Tuesday.
She mentioned that, due to the recent economic turmoil across the globe – as an impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, the prices of fuel oil and LNG have soared.
"As a result, many countries around the world are experiencing power cuts," she said.
"Besides, transportation has been hampered due to the Russia-Ukraine war compounding the crisis," the premier said, adding that even coal is not available.
According to the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation (Petrobangla) and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the country has a daily demand of 4.1 billion cubic feet of gas.
The price of this expensive fuel has gone up further in the world market – from $25 to $38 recently. As a result, Bangladesh's import of 1 billion cubic feet of LNG per day has come down to almost half.
On the other hand, Bangladesh cannot procure LNG from the open market due to the agreements with Oman and Qatar
Last Sunday, 510 million cubic feet of LNG was supplied to the national grid. Usually, 2.7 to 2.9 billion cubic feet of gas is supplied to the national grid. Therefore, the country experiences a gas shortage of more than 1.1 billion cubic feet per day.
Apart from gas, there are two options as fuel to produce electricity – oil and coal.
But the cost of generating electricity based on diesel is Tk30-35 per unit. It also has to be rationed because the cost is high. In the current situation, the daily loss of BPC is Tk100 crore.
On the other hand, the cost of coal is low, but the production capacity of the coal-based Payra power plant is half now, as the grid is not fully ready. Another coal-based power plant at Rampal is already too late to start production in due time. It may start production in October.
As a result, there is no quick solution to the power shortage, other than reducing demand or using it economically.
Several top officials of BPDB said the loadshedding situation will remain the same for the next two days. After that, if the demand decreases during the Eid holidays, load shedding may decrease. At the same time, storms may reduce the residential and commercial use of electricity.
Besides, strict measures will be taken to keep shops and markets closed after 8pm following the Eid holidays to save 500-600MW of electricity per day, according to officials.
The premier on Tuesday instructed officials concerned to make an area-based power supply time to ensure the best use of electricity during the time of power shortage.
The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources is working to prepare and execute the list.
Contacted, Habibur Rahman, secretary of the Power Division, told Dhaka Tribune: "We are trying to solve this problem soon. We are finding some other fuel sources to keep the power plants in full production.
"Some other measures are also being taken to solve this recent shortage. Hopefully, it will be solved in the next one and a half months."
According to the BPDB, the demand for electricity at this time of the year stands at 14,000MW. On Saturday, a maximum of 13,106MW of electricity was distributed at the substation level. There was no loadshedding on paper that day, but people in different parts of the country reported that there was no electricity for 1-6 hours.
From Saturday to Monday, the BPDB supplied 550MW, 1,500MW and 1,400MW less than its production capacity due to the fuel crisis.
Meanwhile, people of different areas and professions have expressed their grief and misery due to the gas crisis and load shedding of electricity. A number of industrial entrepreneurs and officials have said that the factories have to be shut down for most of the day due to power outages and insufficient gas supply.
Recently, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid acknowledged the crisis in power and gas supplies.
On his verified Facebook page, he wrote that power production is being disrupted due to the shortage of gas. As a result, the power supply is being disrupted in many places. The power generation generally will be normal once the gas supply improves.
He also mentioned that the price hike of fuel in the international market has caused trouble for many countries. "In such a situation I regret the temporary inconvenience,” he added.
