A nationwide gas shortage is generating frequent power outages, with over three dozen gas-fired power facilities currently out of function due to a lack of input. Power outages are more severe in rural areas, while urban areas witness increasing load shedding.
Officials said the situation is unlikely to improve until 15th July, when the Summit Group’s LNG terminal is slated to reopen. Summit’s floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) has shut down, resulting in a 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) shortage in gas delivery to the national grid.
This gas scarcity has forced practically all major gas-fired power facilities to close, including the recently commissioned and efficient Unique Meghnaghat 584 megawatt and Summit Meghnaghat 583 megawatt plants.
The gas problem has a broader impact, threatening industrial output and the textile industry, slowing the fueling of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, and causing additional difficulty for residential consumers.
