Although the amount of load shedding was lower on Tuesday than its previous day, the country was still reeling from around 2,100MW of shortage in electricity generation by afternoon.

The data of the National Load Dispatch Centre (NLDC) at the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) showed that the country experienced load shedding in excess of about 2,100MW at 3pm in the peak day hours, when the generation was 14,273MW against a demand for 16,400MW.

At any given time, the amount of load shedding is the difference between the amount of electricity generated and its demand, when the former is in deficit.

There is a forecast that the demand will go up to 17,300MW in the evening peak hours and the extent of load shedding may exceed 2,200MW amid what is already the hottest as well as longest heat wave on record in the country.

The NLDC data also shows that the country’s on-grid installed generation capacity is 27,057MW, but almost 7,000MW of that is currently out of the equation due to fuel shortage and plant maintenance programme.

“Some 4,761MW of power remains out of generation only because of gas shortage,” a top official of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) told UNB, referring to the NLDC data.

Another 2,196 MW remains out of commission due to scheduled maintenance work.

The BPDB official, who was granted anonymity to speak on matters considered sensitive, said they have been receiving 1,293 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas against a demand for more than 2,317 MMCFD.

Officials also noted that consumers at the rural areas are the principal victims of the power outages this time as many areas have to experience several hours of load shedding at different times.

According to an official from the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), "Power outages in rural areas are so frequent that any interruption means consumers have to wait several hours to get electricity back."

The data shows on Monday the areas under Dhaka region experienced 360MW of load shedding while Chattogram 165MW, Khulna 132MW, Rajshahi 182MW, Cumilla 245MW, Mymensingh 275MW, Sylhet 44MW and Rangpur 130MW while there was no load shedding in Barisal on the day.