Amidst a scarcity of natural gas and diminished winter demand, electricity generation in Bangladesh has plummeted to approximately one-third of its total capacity.
According to the State-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), on 14th January, daytime peak-hour electricity generation nosedived to 8,914 megawatts, representing only 33.63 per cent of the country’s installed power-generation capacity of 26,504 megawatts.
The situation slightly improved during evening peak hours on Monday, with generation reaching 10,286 megawatts or 38.80 per cent of the total capacity.
A senior BPDB official reportedly attributed the crisis to a natural gas shortage, restricting power generation by around 4,500 megawatts. State-run Petrobangla is reportedly supplying only 793 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas, meeting just 35.40 per cent of the overall demand for 2,240 mmcfd required for power generation even if more than two and a half dozen gas-fired power plants are currently inactive due to the shortage, as reported by Petrobangla.
