Power cut woes to ease in two weeks, says Nasrul Hamid

State minister for power says Payra and Barapukuria power plants are running at half the capacity now

State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid has blamed a fuel supply crisis at power stations for the frequent power outages throughout the country. But, the situation is likely to improve in two weeks, according to him.

The country is currently facing a daily deficit of 2,500 MW in power production, he said on Sunday.

Apologising for the current state of power supply, Nasrul said: “It’s taking us time to supply gas, coal and oil to power stations. We can get over this gradually. I know how unbearable it’s become. The Power Division is trying to resolve this as soon as possible.”

Both the Payra Power Plant and the Barapukuria Power Station are running at half capacity, he said, adding that the liquid fuel-based power stations were going through similar issues.

Nasrul pointed out that the fuel supply crunch for residences, commercial and industries has occurred at the same time. “The current state of reserves [is not satisfactory]. The heatwave has also expanded over a bigger area while temperatures rose from 38 degrees Celcius to 41 degrees Celcius. So, the demand for electricity also rose.”

The authorities have kept ‘sufficient’ power stations ready to ensure uninterrupted power supply, but a shortage of fuel meant it was of no use, according to the state minister.

On why the government could not prepare for the shortage, he said the authorities had been trying for the last two months to make up for the fuel insufficiency.

“But, we have to take care of a lot of things on the whole. Economic issues persist while opening letters of credit and getting fuel on time also pose difficulties. We have to adjust through all these issues. But the good news is we have an arrangement to mitigate the problems.”

Nasrul dismissed rumours that there is a squeeze for petrol at refuelling stations. “[There is] no shortage of petrol. The problem is with heavy fuel. Cars do not run on that.”

Meanwhile, the Banshkhali Power Station will be operational from Monday, he said.

On the coal crisis at Payra and Rampaul stations, he warned that things could get out of hand unless the fuel supplies arrive on time.

Nasrul also stressed that any move that harms the supply of fuel to power stations must be avoided.