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The government has decided to introduce a trial 110 megawatt load shedding in the capital to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply for irrigation in rural areas amid a severe nationwide heatwave and power crisis.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit announced the decision in Parliament on Thursday, expressing regret over the public suffering caused by ongoing outages.
Speaking under Rule 300 during the 20th sitting of the first session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram, the state minister said the move aims to reduce disparities between urban and rural electricity access.
“City dwellers cannot remain comfortable while farmers in villages suffer. The spirit of the July uprising was to build a non-discriminatory Bangladesh,” he said.
He added that the decision was taken following consultations with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, prioritising uninterrupted power supply for irrigation during the peak harvesting season.
Explaining the ongoing crisis, Amit said the country faced a peak demand of about 16,000MW on Wednesday, while generation stood at only 14,126MW—forcing authorities to carry out around 2,086MW of load shedding.
He attributed the crisis to accumulated mismanagement by the previous government, noting that while installed capacity appears high on paper, actual generation remains significantly lower.
The minister also highlighted a persistent gas deficit. Daily demand stands at about 3,800 million cubic feet (mmcfd), against combined domestic production of 2,686 mmcfd and imports of 950 mmcfd—leaving a shortfall of 1,164 mmcfd.
He said infrastructural limitations prevent any immediate increase in imports despite financial capacity, but assured that visible progress in gas infrastructure development would be achieved within the government’s 180-day priority plan.
Amit expressed hope that the situation would improve within seven days, as two major power plants—one imported and another coal-fired—are expected to resume full production after maintenance work is completed.
“This will significantly reduce the current nearly 2,000MW load shedding,” he said.
On behalf of the government led by BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, the state minister apologised to the people for the hardship caused.
He also welcomed the formation of a 10-member committee comprising both government and opposition representatives to address the crisis, calling it “a new example of collective governance.”
The government reiterated its commitment to ensuring reliable electricity and energy supply while taking short-term measures like trial load shedding in the capital to support the agriculture sector during a critical period.