Diary  Correspondent

Partial gas supplies have resumed to the national grid from the damaged floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali, but the development has yet to bring significant relief to the power sector. Residents in several areas are experiencing load shedding both during the day and late at night, with the electricity shortfall reaching between 2,000 and nearly 3,000 megawatts in parts of the country on Saturday.

According to officials in the power sector, electricity demand stood at 18,896MW at 5pm on Saturday, when 2,534MW of load shedding was required to manage the shortfall. Two hours earlier, at 3pm, demand was 15,377MW while load shedding stood at 2,958MW.

The situation was also strained in the morning, when demand is normally lower. At 9am, against demand of 13,739MW, authorities had to impose 1,505MW of load shedding.

The most concerning development has been the power shortage during the early hours of the night. At 3am on Friday, demand stood at 14,407MW, while 2,432MW of load shedding was recorded. This indicates that the supply deficit is not limited to peak daytime hours.

The situation had been relatively stable on Thursday, when load shedding remained between 300MW and 400MW. However, the power situation deteriorated sharply within a day.

Gas Shortage Hits Power Generation

Power sector officials said reduced gas supplies have prevented gas-fired power plants from operating at their required capacity. Gas supplies to power plants, which previously stood at around 990 to 1,000 million cubic feet per day, have now fallen to roughly 680 million cubic feet.

Meanwhile, one unit of the Payra power plant remains out of operation, further reducing electricity generation. The plant is currently generating around 400MW to 500MW, according to officials.

LNG Supply Resumes

Gas supplies from the damaged floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali resumed to the national grid at 3:10am on Thursday. The terminal is currently supplying around 280 million cubic feet of gas per day.

Officials hope that once the second boiler is brought back into operation, another 300 million cubic feet could be added to the national grid, potentially improving the overall gas supply situation.

Petrobangla Chairman Md Abdul Mannan said gas supplies would return to normal once the terminal becomes fully operational. He also said the necessary LNG cargoes had been secured.

Supply Rises but Shortfall Remains Significant

Before the fire at the Maheshkhali terminal on July 21, around 2.65 billion cubic feet of gas was supplied to the national grid every day. Following the incident, supply fell to around 2.12 billion cubic feet.

It has since increased to approximately 2.367 billion cubic feet. However, with daily national gas demand estimated at around 3.8 billion cubic feet, a substantial gap between demand and supply remains.

As a result, the partial resumption of gas supplies from the LNG terminal has yet to translate into significant relief in electricity generation. Until gas supplies return to normal, uncertainty will remain over when the country can expect relief from the ongoing power shortage and load shedding.