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Published : 24 Apr 2026, 01:11 AM
A shutdown of one unit at India’s Jharkhand-based Adani Power Plant has intensified pressure on Bangladesh’s electricity system, pushing load-shedding sharply higher across the country.
On Tuesday, the country’s highest recorded load-shedding stood at 2,044MW. By Wednesday, it had climbed to 2,495MW, reflecting a widening gap between demand and supply.
Data from the Power Division shows that the national electricity shortfall has increased steadily over the two days, with average load-shedding rising from 2.9 hours to 3.7 hours.
The burden has fallen disproportionately on rural electricity distribution areas.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) member (generation) Md Zahurul Islam told bdnews24.com on Thursday that the situation worsened following the shutdown of Adani’s second unit due to a mechanical fault.
“(On Wednesday) it increased a bit and went close to 2,500MW. The No. 2 machine of Adani’s Power Plant has shut down due to technical fault,” he said.
He added that the unit went offline around 1am on Wednesday and may take three to four days to resume operation after repairs.
Rising Deficit Over 2 Days
On Apr 21, at midnight, demand stood at 15,174MW against a supply of 13,322MW, leaving a deficit of 1,852MW. By 3pm, load-shedding had already climbed to 2,044MW as supply dropped further.
On Apr 22, the situation deteriorated further. At 3pm, load-shedding peaked at 2,495MW, the highest in the two days. By 8pm, the deficit remained above 2,000MW despite a partial recovery in supply.
Overall, the data shows a clear rise in shortfall across all peak hours on Wednesday compared with Tuesday, with average load-shedding increasing by around 0.8 hours.
Emergency Measures and Diesel Use
Zahurul Islam said the Adani unit shutdown was the primary reason for the increased pressure.
“We do not have any other machine available at this moment. There are also some fuel issues and slowdowns, which is why load-shedding is happening,” he said.
To manage the crisis, diesel-based power plants are being operated at a higher cost. Additional generation has been added in Khulna, and units in Haripur and Siddhirganj have been brought into operation.
A 100MW unit in Chandpur is also being kept running despite maintenance work, while work at Shahjibazar has been rescheduled to Friday to ease pressure during examinations.
“Diesel-based power plants are being run to cover peak demand as much as possible. Still, some problems remain, which we cannot deny,” he said.
Rural Areas Under Greater Strain
While supply in major city distribution zones remained relatively stable, rural electricity areas continued to face severe shortages.
On both days, DESCO areas reported full supply, while DPDC faced only minor deficits. In contrast, Dhaka rural electricity areas recorded average load-shedding of 4.5 to 4.8 hours, with deficits exceeding 500MW during peak hours.
Across the country, similar patterns were observed, with rural distribution networks consistently experiencing higher outages than urban centres.
Zahurul said the situation is expected to improve once the Adani and SS Power units return to operation, potentially adding around 1,300MW to the grid and reducing load-shedding by half.
