The prolonged power outages that have long plagued Bangladesh’s rural regions and district towns have now reached the capital city, Dhaka. Severe load shedding hit various neighbourhoods across Dhaka on Wednesday night, 12 August, plunging residents into extreme distress and disrupting everyday household routines after working hours.
Affected citizens turned to social media platforms to voice their frustration over the unexpected outages. “Load shedding has now migrated from the village to Dhaka,” wrote Farin Ahmed, a Facebook user, describing the worsening situation. Journalist Ataur Rahman expressed deep annoyance after returning home late at night only to be met with a blackout. Writing on his Facebook wall, he noted that the power went out at 11:15 pm, subjecting him to intense discomfort. Beyond individual complaints, social media has been flooded with posts, memes, and satire reflecting widespread public anger over the power crisis.
Energy experts and officials point to a severe domestic natural gas shortage, fuel supply deficits for power generation, and a sharp reduction in electricity imports from India’s Adani power plant as the primary drivers behind the crisis. These combined factors have caused a significant drop in national generation capacity, dealing a severe blow to rural power supplies before reaching the capital.
Official figures highlight the scale of the deficit. National power shortages peaked at 3,671 megawatts on 9 August. On 12 August at 1:00 am, the shortfall stood at 3,194 megawatts, and remained as high as 2,314 megawatts by 8:00 am the following morning. This substantial supply deficit on the national grid has left large swathes of the countryside without reliable power for extended hours.
Although the main distribution companies serving the capital—the Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) and the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC)—have historically been shielded from the worst grid shortfalls, residents across multiple Dhaka neighbourhoods reported prolonged power cuts starting Wednesday. Both urban and rural communities are now bearing the brunt of the nation’s ongoing fuel and power crunch.
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