Bangladesh’s power generation capacity is officially above 18,500 megawatts, yet peak demand has so far reached around 16,350 megawatts. During those high-demand periods, roughly 1,500 megawatts of load shedding was required. At some times during the day, outages have exceeded 2,000 megawatts. Power cuts become more severe at night when demand rises, although closing shops and shopping centers at 7 p.m. has helped reduce consumption somewhat.

According to PGCB data, the country has 136 power plants. However, 13 are idle due to gas shortages, 9 because of fuel shortages, and 8 for maintenance. Among the remaining facilities, 17 are solar plants that cannot provide electricity at night. Five diesel-based plants are also kept shut because of high operating costs.

Energy experts say that during the previous Awami League administration, multiple power plants were built without securing enough fuel supply. This increased dependence on imported energy. Whenever imports become difficult or global supply chains are disrupted, load shedding worsens.

Since 2022, foreign currency shortages have made fuel imports harder. Ironically, one of the major reasons for the reserve crisis has been the country’s dependence on imported fuel. Even under the previous government, some plants remained underused while authorities still had to pay capacity charges. Under the BNP government, the existing problems have been intensified by Middle East conflicts that have added pressure to fuel markets.

The Power Development Board says uninterrupted summer electricity supply would require around 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Last year, daily supply was around 1 billion cubic feet, but this year the average has dropped to about 900 million cubic feet. As a result, around 600 megawatts of generation capacity has been lost.

The sector is also carrying heavy unpaid liabilities left from the previous administration. The Power Development Board reportedly owes around Tk 52,000 crore. India’s Adani power company has sent payment reminders. Its plant is currently supplying about 1,500 megawatts to Bangladesh, but the company has warned that delayed payments could affect future supply.

Coal supply has also been disrupted after Indonesia reduced exports due to Middle East-related market pressures. This has prevented coal-fired plants from operating at full capacity. A 1,320-megawatt plant in Patuakhali has stopped production, while the Banshkhali plant in Chattogram, with the same capacity, is producing less than half its potential.

Oil-fired plants are also struggling because unpaid bills have limited their ability to purchase fuel. As a result, generation remains below available capacity, widening the gap between electricity demand and supply.

Gas-fired generation capacity currently stands at around 12,200 megawatts, but actual output has been limited to just over 5,200 megawatts.