People across Bangladesh endured a sweeping heatwave on Friday, as the country experienced up to 1,818 megawatts of load-shedding in different districts, worsening public suffering, officials said.
Data from the Bangladesh Power Development Board showed that electricity generation stood at 14,196.50MW against a demand for 16,096.50MW on the day, leaving a significant supply gap.
The power shortage widened further in the evening. BPDB public relations director Md Shamim Hossain said that the deficit reached about 1,900MW during peak hours.
Earlier forecasts by the BPDB projected electricity demand at 14,780MW during daytime and 15,950MW in the evening. In contrast, the agency had estimated generation at 14,195MW during the day and 14,726MW in the evening on Thursday.
The power crisis coincided with a continuing heatwave.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, a mild heatwave on Friday continued sweeping across Khulna division and several districts, including Dhaka, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Rajshahi, Pabna, Sirajganj, Patuakhali, Rangamati, Bandarban, Lakshmipur and Feni.
The combined impact of high temperatures and prolonged outages disrupted daily life, particularly in the southern region.
News agency United News of Bangladesh reported that residents in at least 21 districts, including Khulna, faced severe hardship due to frequent power cuts.
With temperatures soaring, outages stretched for hours at a time, affecting households, businesses and educational activities.
Office-goers, students and candidates appearing in the Secondary School Certificate examinations were among the worst affected.
Consumers in different areas reported that electricity supply was being interrupted repeatedly, even during early morning and late night, leaving little respite from the heat.
Rural areas bore the brunt of the crisis more acutely than urban centres, with residents complaining of longer and more frequent outages.
However, power disruptions were also reported in the capital Dhaka over the past several days.
Amid the growing disparity, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources Anindya Islam Amit told parliament on April 23 that the government had decided to introduce a trial of 110MW load-shedding in Dhaka.
The move, he said, aims to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply for irrigation in rural areas and reduce the urban-rural gap in power distribution.
