Nasrul Hamid apologises for load shedding
State minister for power and energy, Nasrul Hamid, yesterday apologised for the inability to provide electricity in accordance with the demand of the people, despite the governments wholehearted efforts to ensure uninterrupted supply of power everywhere. The state minister tweeted: Despite our efforts within limited resources and different limitations, sometimes there are temporary dislocations in the supply of electricity. He attributed the abysmal power situation, especially in the countrys north-south and western areas, to the collapse of the countrys biggest transmission tower at Meghna Ghat due to inclement weather on May 1 and to the maintenance work at some power stations for generating 1,700 megawatt (MW) of power during the upcoming Ramadan.
Most of you are aware that to provide power to remote areas, electricity lines have been spanned over nearly 350 rivers, some of which are 2025 km long. Sometimes, there is trouble due to bad weather conditions, forcing us not to transmit power to many areas, said the state minister.
He also said more than a hundred thousand transformers have to be replaced, which would require a huge amount of expenditure. This would force the authorities concerned to meet many new challenges in a low-income country like Bangladesh, he explained. Nasrul Hamid said if the demand happens to be 12,000 MW, the power capacity should be nearly 20,000 MW. But we see that when it rains, the demand goes down to 4,000 MW. It again rises to 12,000 MW during summer, he added, explaining how the complexities in power supply and generation influence the usage of power. Earlier, the demand for electricity in urban areas was 12 per cent, but it has risen to 20 per cent over the years, said the state minister. He also said many large projects have been taken up to meet the growing demand. New grid lines and sub-stations are being built to this end, he added. Referring to the recent spate of power cuts in the western region, Nasrul Hamid said the situation would improve in the next three to four days. Were planning to supply extra electricity during Ramadan, he added. The state minister further said it would be possible to supply uninterrupted electricity in the next three to four years, for which the government has been working relentlessly. This would require everyones cooperation, he added.
