Bangladesh is likely to experience around 3,000 megawatts (MW) of load shedding on Thursday due to a significant gap between electricity demand and generation, officials said.

Umme Rehana, Joint Secretary of the Power Division’s Planning-1 Branch, said the country’s electricity demand is estimated at around 17,000 MW, while generation is expected to remain at about 14,000 MW on Thursday.

“As per the forecast, there will be a shortage of around 3,000 MW,” she said at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

She mentioned that the country faced around 2,086 MW of load shedding on Wednesday, when supply stood at 13,681 MW.

Officials said rising temperatures and increased demand from industrial zones have further strained the power system.

Umme Rehana also cited several ongoing technical and fuel-related issues affecting generation.

These include the shutdown of one unit of Adani Power due to technical faults, reduced output from SS Power Limited’s Banshkhali plant following a unit failure, and the closure of a unit at RNPL (Payra Power Plant) due to coal supply constraints.

She said improvements are expected from April 26 and April 28 as repairs are completed, while additional coal shipments are likely to arrive in the first week of May.

“Hopefully, we will be able to provide about 1,982 MW of additional electricity,” referring to the expected improvement in generation once ongoing technical issues are resolved and fuel supplies are restored," she added,