A deepening power crisis – linked to global fuel shortages triggered by the Middle East conflict – combined with sweltering heat has thrown life in Jhenaidah into disarray, with nearly 21 lakh residents of the district enduring prolonged load-shedding and mounting hardship.
A sharp mismatch between demand and supply is driving the crisis.
According to officials, the combined demand of Jhenaidah Palli Bidyut and West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL) stands at around 129 megawatts, but they are receiving only about 77 megawatts, resulting in a daily deficit of 52 megawatts.
Jhenaidah Palli Bidyut Samity Assistant General Manager (Engineering) Nazmun Nahar Jarin said the organisation currently serves 445,264 consumers, including 399,126 residential users, alongside commercial, irrigation, industrial and institutional connections.
She said against a demand of 75 megawatts, the rural power utility received 42 megawatts on Thursday, forcing authorities to carry out rotational load-shedding across feeders several times a day.
Consumers said prolonged outages are making life unbearable amid intense heat. “People in rural areas are falling sick due to long hours without electricity,” said a consumer, Ihsanul Islam.
He said they have to endure load-shedding stretching up to at least seven hours, calling for a fair distribution system instead of extended outages in specific areas.
Zahura Khatun of Bonkira village in Sadar upazila said electricity goes out every hour during the night, while during the day it remains highly erratic, coming and going unpredictably. Farmer Azmul Huda Biswas echoed the same concern.
Meanwhile, Executive Engineer of WZPDCL in Jhenaidah Din Mohammad Mohim said the company has around 155,555 consumers across six upazilas, with peak demand ranging between 54 and 60 megawatts, while supply remains limited to about 39 megawatts.
On Thursday, it received 46 megawatts, leading to a shortfall of at least 8 megawatts.
Mohim added that nearly 90,000 consumers in the district town are also facing similar shortages, leaving both urban and rural areas without electricity for hours.
President of the Jhenaidah Chamber of Commerce Moazzem Hossain said the power crisis is severely affecting small and large industries, causing significant financial losses.
A former principal of a college, Sayedul Islam, said the ongoing outages are increasing public suffering, particularly affecting children, the elderly and students whose studies are being disrupted.
Power officials, requesting anonymity, said they are compelled to impose load-shedding due to reduced supply from the national grid and could not say when the situation might improve.