Sudden Shutdown of Multiple Power Plants Worsens Load-Shedding

Load shedding worsened across the country on Thursday after one unit of Adani’s power plant supplying electricity from India and one unit of RNPL shut down due to technical faults, according to power sector officials. The outages created a fresh shortfall of 1,200MW, amid rising temperatures linked to a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal.

A power report at 3pm showed an electricity deficit of 3,557MW. Demand was recorded at 16,345MW—at least 1,000MW below peak demand—while generation stood at 12,788MW.

Bangladesh Power Development Board member for generation Zahurul Islam said an Adani unit had suddenly shut down again and was being repaired. An RNPL unit in the country also went offline, he said.

“Together, a fresh shortage of 1,200MW has been created. The remaining old problems are also continuing as before,” Zahurul Islam said.

National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) data showed that Adani’s generation fell suddenly from 1,430MW to 758MW at 11pm on Wednesday.

Generation from coal-fired power plants fell to 4,857MW, compared with 5,200MW a day earlier.

Several gas-fired power plants have also shut down because of technical faults. A 450MW power plant in Ashuganj, which generated 319MW a day earlier, shut down on Thursday due to a technical fault.

At least seven power plants in the Dhaka region are shut down or operating at reduced capacity because of gas shortages. One power plant each is closed in the Chattogram, Cumilla and Mymensingh regions.

The widening deficit has resulted in severe load shedding in different parts of the country. Load shedding, which had eased for several weeks, has intensified again, with urban areas experiencing outages up to four times a day and rural areas facing seven to 10 hours without electricity.