Load-shedding has intensified across 21 districts in southwestern Bangladesh, including Khulna, with the power deficit reaching 116 megawatts (MW) during peak hours on Wednesday evening.
The shortage stood at 101MW during the afternoon, leaving residents grappling with frequent and prolonged power cuts.
Belal Hossain, a resident of Goborchaka in Khulna, told Dhaka Tribune that the situation had deteriorated compared with Tuesday.
“Previously, we experienced power cuts for an hour at a time. On Wednesday, outages lasted up to one and a half hours at a stretch. We are now facing 13–14 hours of load-shedding a day,” he said.
Ambia Khatun, a resident of Boyra, said frequent power cuts had compounded the hardship caused by the ongoing gas shortage.
“Gas supply is already severely disrupted, and we are trying to cope by using electricity. Frequent load-shedding has made the situation even more unbearable,” she said.
Latika Rani of Tutpara also reported a sudden deterioration in the power supply, saying outages often occurred even when electricity was urgently needed.
According to the central control room of the West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL), electricity demand across its 21-district service area stood at 694MW on Wednesday evening, against a supply of 578MW, leaving a deficit of 116MW.
In the Khulna zone, demand was 528MW, while supply stood at 447MW, resulting in a shortfall of 81MW. In the Barisal zone, demand was 166MW against a supply of 131MW, leaving a deficit of 35MW.
District-wise figures showed load-shedding of 29MW in Khulna, 4MW in Magura, 3MW in Narail, 11MW in Jhenaidah, 2MW in Chuadanga, 1MW in Meherpur, 12MW in Faridpur, 13MW in Rajbari, 4MW in Madaripur, 1MW each in Gopalganj and Shariatpur, 22MW in Barisal, 2MW each in Pirojpur and Jhalakathi, 3MW in Patuakhali, 2MW in Barguna and 4MW in Bhola.
At around 1:00pm on Wednesday, demand across the 21 districts stood at 661MW, while supply was 560MW, leaving a shortfall of 101MW.
In the Khulna zone, demand was 481MW against a supply of 422MW, resulting in a deficit of 59MW. In the Barisal zone, demand stood at 180MW, while supply was 138MW, leaving a shortfall of 42MW.
Afternoon figures showed load-shedding of 17MW in Khulna, 6MW in Magura, 1MW in Narail, 7MW in Jhenaidah, 1MW in Bheramara, 7MW in Kushtia, 10MW in Rajbari, 5MW in Madaripur, 3MW in Gopalganj, 2MW in Shariatpur, 25MW in Barisal, 3MW each in Pirojpur and Jhalakathi, 5MW in Patuakhali, and 3MW each in Barguna and Bhola.
The situation was comparatively better on Tuesday, October 13. At 1:00pm, demand across the 21 districts stood at 741MW against a supply of 705MW, leaving a deficit of 36MW. In the Khulna zone, demand was 567MW and supply 531MW, while the Barisal zone met its full demand of 174MW.
By 7:00pm, the overall deficit had risen to 79MW, with demand at 721MW and supply at 642MW. In the Khulna zone, demand stood at 551MW against a supply of 504MW, leaving a shortfall of 47MW. In the Barisal zone, demand was 170MW, while supply stood at 138MW, resulting in a deficit of 32MW.
