6 Barisal dists get only half of required power

23 March 2009, 18:00 PM

Rafiqul Islam, Barisal

Frequent load shedding is making life miserable in six districts under Barisal division as electricity supply has come down to below half of the demand in recent days. Sudden electricity snap, low voltage and fluctuations are not only disturbing public life, but also causing damage to electronic equipment and domestic appliances. SSC examinees, rural electricity consumers and farmers using power pumps for Boro cultivation are worst sufferers due to the erratic power supply. The region sees 10-12 hours of power outage on an average and the situation is worsening with increase in temperature. In absence of any major power producing unit in Barisal division, the electricity supply in the region depends mostly on the national grid, which hardly covers half of the demand. On an average around 40MW electricity is supplied from national grid to 18 feeders of the region against the demand for 100MW. Power Development Board (PDB) is trying to tackle the situation by simultaneous shedding load and it causes power outage four to six times a day. The situation worsens during peak hours -- 10:00am to 2:00pm during day and 6:00pm to 10:00pm at night. In Barisal city, the average supply is 16 to 22MW at the peak hours of night while the demand is at least 40MW. The situation is worse in remote areas of Uzirpur, Agoiljhara, Gournadi, Babuganj, Hizla, Muladi and Mehendiganj upazilas in the district where load shedding continues even for 13 to 17 hours a day. Electricity was supplied only around five hours in Jhalakathi district and around four hours in Swarupkathi upazila under Pirojpur district on most of the days of the last two weeks. Although the electricity bill is going up, power supply situation is worsening day by day, alleged several consumers. Executive engineers of Barisal Power Supply Division-1 and 2 said, “We are not generating power. It is only a centre for supply. So distribution depends on the flow of supply from the national grid. Nothing can be done to improve the situation here until sufficient supply is ensured through improving the total power generation capacity.” The 40MW Bhola-Shahabajpur gas field based power generation unit of PDB was scheduled to be commissioned in May 2008, but it is yet to be implemented, officials said.