Power crisis grips Sylhet causing severe suffering

The residents of Sylhet city are facing a severe electricity crisis as frequent load -shedding since Wednesday has caused immense suffering amid sweltering heat.

Large parts of the city plunged into darkness on Wednesday evening, leaving residents struggling to cope with.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) in Sylhet said the country is experiencing power cuts due to several major plants going off suddenly because of mechanical failures.

BPDB officials, however,  expressed the hope that the situation may improve within two to three days.

Officials in Sylhet said multiple outages are being carried out both during the day and night owing to a shortage in the national grid. The crisis could ease if supply from the grid increases.

According to BPDB, Sylhet’s current electricity demand stands at over 40 megawatts, while supply from the national grid is only 25.30 megawatts. 

This shortfall has forced authorities to impose frequent power cuts every day, said Shams-E-Arefin, Executive Engineer of BPDB’s Sales and Distribution Division-2 in Sylhet.

On Tuesday, the Amberkhana substation received 13 megawatts, Sheikhghat substation 9 megawatts, and Lakkatura substation only 3.3 megawatts.

“We are receiving limited power from the national grid, so it is not possible to meet the city’s demand. It remains uncertain how long this situation will persist. The crisis will ease once adequate supply from the national grid resumes,” said Arefin.