State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid today (October 27, 2022) said power supply situation may improve from November. “We hope the power supply situation will improve from November. I’m optimistic and don’t want to make you pessimistic,” he told reporters after attending a seminar on renewable energy at Dhaka’s Brac Inn Centre. Earlier in August, the state minister had said that power supply situation may improve from September, and later again said that load shedding would decrease from October. Read more: 2 weeks after grid failure, Ghorashal Power Station’s unit-5 resumes operation Following a national power grid failure on October 4, 2022, the electricity supply situation deteriorated – increasing load shedding to 5-6 hours every day. The government started implementing an austerity plan in July by suspending operations of all diesel-fired power plants to reduce fuel imports and save foreign currency. The import of LNG from the international spot market was also suspended for the same purpose, triggering frequent load shedding across the country. Referring to the request of businessmen to resume LNG imports from the international spot market and to ensure uninterrupted gas and electricity supply to factories at a higher price, Nasrul said the government is assessing all the options. Read No govt decision to stop the supply of daytime electricity: Hasan Mahmud “We’re working on it. Businessmen need uninterrupted gas supply at an affordable price,” he added. He also said that his ministry has sent a detailed proposal to Brunei on power supply situation and is now waiting for their response. It may take a week more to get a response from Brunei, he said.

After two weeks of remaining out of order, the 210 MW capacity unit-5 of Ghorashal Power Station has resumed operation. “Unit-5 of Ghorashal Power Station is in operation since yesterday and is now generating 170 MW electricity, against its installed capacity of 210 MW,” Shamim Hasan, public relations director of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), told UNB. Ghorashal Power Station’s unit-5 went off along with other units following the National Power Grid failure on October 4, 2022. Read: Power supply in Dhaka: Until Ghorashal working in full capacity, situation won’t improve Except unit-5, almost all other units of the power station resumed operation the same day. As a result, Dhaka city and adjoining areas were getting relatively less power supply from Ghorashal. The power station plays a major role in electricity supplied to Dhaka. Due to a major technical fault, officials failed to resume power generation from unit-5 of Ghorashal. After repair, BPDB engineers managed to resume the unit’s operation at the plant yesterday (October 19, 2022). Read: PGCB names 2 suspended officials for power grid failure Power generation resumption from unit-5 will help improve the electricity supply situation in Dhaka and surrounding areas, said another BPDB official. Dhaka city and adjoining areas are still experiencing frequent load shedding due to a huge gap between power supply and demand. BPDB data shows the country’s power generation varies between 11,000 MW and 12,000 MW, following the national power grid failure on October 4, 2022 – against a demand for about 14,000 MW. Read Theft in power sector behind grid failure: Fakhrul

Power supply is likely to be restored in all areas of Dhaka city by 8pm, and in Chattogram by 9 pm today, ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak has said. National power transmission grid failed at 2:05pm today. The state minister shared the information on his verified Facebook page. Read: Power supply may fully be restored by 7pm today, Nasrul Hamid hopes Power supply has already been restored up to the Amin Bazar grid, he added. “Although a power grid trip takes one second, restoration is a long and complex process,” said Palak. Power grid engineers and technicians are working hard, he added, urging all to be patient without spreading rumours. The national power transmission grid failure caused blackout across Bangladesh, except some parts of the north. Read:National power grid failure: Blackout across Bangladesh According to officials at Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), the transmission line tripped somewhere in the eastern part of the country, especially districts on the east of Jamuna river. Following the national power grid failure, all power plants tripped one after another and electricity supply went off in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Barishal and Mymensingh divisions.

After the national power grid failure earlier today, power supply was restored in some Dhaka areas, including president and prime minister’s official residences, around 5 pm today. “We have already restored power supply in Bangabhaban and Ganobhaban, and also some parts in Mirpur and other Dhaka areas,” State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told UNB.  Read:National grid failure: Telecom services may be disrupted He said officials of the power companies are working hard to restore power supply all over Bangladesh.