Severe power crisis grips M’singh as plant output plummets

MYMENSINGH, Oct 5: Public life in the Mymensingh region has been thrown into disarray due to intense and abnormal load-shedding. 

The crisis has been exacerbated by a massive shortfall from United Power Ltd., whose production has dropped from a promised 350 megawatts to just 80-90 megawatts.

Data from September 19-25 illustrates a systemic deficit. The eight rural electricity cooperatives in the zone faced an average daily load shedding of 257 megawatts, or 22 per cent of their 1,120-megawatt demand. This has made round-the-clock electricity unavailable across the region.

The situation is most critical in Jamalpur, Tangail, Mymensingh, and Netrakona, where power cuts have reached an extreme level. 

Consumers also report suffering from chronic low voltage. 

According to sources,  Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board has formally urged the Power Development Board to increase the region's allocation from the national grid, a move cooperatives say would immediately resolve the crisis.

The cooperatives assert that a simple increase in the region's allocation from the national grid is the most direct solution to restore normalcy and avert a power crisis.