Bangladesh reels under prolonged power outages as gas shortage strains new government

Bangladesh is grappling with hours-long power cuts and sweltering heat, disrupting daily life across the country and putting the six-month-old BNP government under mounting public pressure. Officials concede the crisis could last at least another week.

In rural areas, residents say the outages have become relentless. Abdur Rahman, a 32-year-old from Kamalnagar, a rural sub-district in the southern district of Lakshmipur, said electricity rarely stays on for more than an hour at a time. "It doesn't matter if it's morning, noon or night, the electricity simply won't stay. We're lucky if it lasts an hour before vanishing for the next ten," he told The Hindu. He added that blackouts continue after dark, often cutting off without warning and lasting for hours.

The crisis is not confined to villages. Bijoy Talukdar, a private firm employee in Dhaka's Moghbazar area, said he had expected the city to be spared. "The power was gone for three to four hours on Thursday, right in the heart of the city. It cut out four times today alone," he said.

Supply crunch driven by gas shortage

The immediate trigger is a severe shortfall in natural gas supply, which has left several gas-fired power plants unable to run at full capacity even as electricity demand climbs with the heat.

According to officials, the country's total gas supply fell to around 2,100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) against a demand of roughly 3,800 mmcfd. Domestic gas fields contributed about 1,630 mmcfd, while two floating LNG terminals supplied up to 410 mmcfd — the lowest combined supply since a July 21 fire disabled the U.S.-owned Excelerate Energy terminal.

That terminal partially resumed operations on August 5, but a second, Summit-operated terminal began cutting supply from August 10 after it was unable to unload LNG from incoming tankers, citing bad weather and technical problems. Coal shortages have also kept several major power plants from running at full capacity, while electricity imports from India have declined, compounding the shortfall.

The shortage was particularly acute between August 11 and 12. Load-shedding peaked at 3,592 MW at midnight on August 11, when demand of 17,523 MW outstripped supply of 13,931 MW. Demand peaked again at 18,043 MW at 9 p.m., against supply of 15,036 MW — a deficit of over 3,000 MW that persisted past midnight.

Though conditions eased somewhat the following morning, load-shedding climbed again to 2,688 MW by noon and 3,382 MW by 3 p.m. on August 12. National grid load-shedding now regularly exceeds 3,000 MW a day. Rural areas are bearing the brunt: some receive as little as five to seven hours of electricity a day, while others go without power for 17 to 20 hours at a stretch. To ease the burden on villages, load-shedding has now begun in cities, including Dhaka.

Falling gas pressure has also pushed households onto electric stoves, adding further strain to the grid. At the same time, industries reliant on their own gas-fired generation have been forced to switch to grid power, compounding demand alongside heavier use of fans and air-conditioners in the heat. The Summit-operated terminal's LNG supply was halted again on Thursday afternoon due to bad weather, further reducing the country's strained gas supply.

Government orders early closures; anger boils over

In response, the Power Division on Wednesday ordered shopping malls, markets and shops nationwide to shut by 8 p.m., an hour earlier than the previous 9 p.m. cutoff, effective from August 12. All illuminated billboards must now be switched off by 7 p.m., and decorative lighting has been banned entirely.

Public frustration has turned violent in places, with electricity offices in several areas facing attacks, vandalism, and staff being confined. The government has appealed for patience but has not yet provided a clear timeline for full restoration.

The crisis comes at a delicate time for the BNP government, which took office six months ago after a contested election. The prolonged outages have become a flashpoint for opposition criticism, with critics accusing the government of mismanagement. Analysts note that the immediate causes are supply-side failures, but the public's tolerance is wearing thin as the heat shows no sign of abating.