State minister says Dhaka to face 110MW load-shedding for irrigation

The deficit between electricity supply and demand exceeded 2,000MW on Wednesday, government says

The government is going to introduce 110MW load-shedding in Dhaka to boost power supply for irrigation, State Minister for Power Aninda Islam Amit has said.

He also expressed hope that the current power crisis would ease within the next seven days once two major power plants return to full production.

Amit detailed the supply-demand gap in parliament on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the peak demand for electricity reached nearly 16,000MW, while production stood at 14,126.35MW.

The resulting deficit of 2,086MW necessitated load-shedding.

In Dhaka, the combined demand for DESCO and DPDC is approximately 3,500MW.

"It is not acceptable for city dwellers to live in comfort while the hardworking farmers in the villages suffer," Amit said.

Addressing the public’s scepticism, Amit acknowledged that trust in government statements may have eroded due to past events.

"The government wants to maintain transparency to win back that trust," he said.

He attributed the current crisis to "accumulated problems" inherited from the previous administration, claiming there is a significant discrepancy between the paper-based production capacity shown by the former Awami League government and the actual reality on the ground.

The state minister also painted a grim picture of the gas sector, saying that the total demand is 3,800 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), while local production stands at 1,686mmcfd and imports at 950mmcfd, leaving a daily deficit of 1,164mmcfd.

Amit noted that even if the government has the funds or capability, "structural limitations" prevent an immediate increase in gas imports.