Power situation expected to improve from Wednesday evening: State Minister

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Anindya Islam Amit has expressed hope that the country’s overall power situation may improve somewhat from Wednesday evening.

He also expressed sincere regret over the inconvenience currently being faced by consumers.

The state minister made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon.

Explaining the situation, Anindya Islam Amit said a floating LNG terminal was unable to receive fresh gas supplies due to rough conditions in the Bay of Bengal.

Meanwhile, another terminal could not be operated at full capacity following a technical accident.

As a result, gas supplies across the country have declined, significantly affecting power generation.

Speaking about the ongoing crisis in the power sector, the state minister said the country had already been facing an energy shortage due to the previous government’s flawed policies. The situation has now been compounded by the accident and adverse weather conditions.

However, efforts are underway to increase electricity and gas supplies through alternative arrangements, he said.

Recently, severe gas shortages pushed nationwide load-shedding beyond 3,000 megawatts. The situation has been particularly difficult in rural areas, where prolonged power outages have caused extreme suffering among consumers and triggered widespread anger.

Amid the situation, several incidents of attacks and vandalism targeting power plants and substations have also been reported in different parts of the country. To prevent such incidents and ensure uninterrupted security, the Rural Electricity Associations have sought additional security at power installations in various areas.