Widespread power cuts hit Dhaka and districts across Bangladesh on Saturday, disrupting what is usually a low-demand weekend as generation plummeted at multiple coal-fired power stations and cross-border import volumes fell. By late afternoon, national transmission data revealed a deficit exceeding 1,900 megawatts (MW), leaving consumers in several neighbourhoods of the capital grappling with two to three rounds of blackouts before nightfall.
Figures released by the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) outlined a persistent gap between peak demand and actual supply throughout the day. At 5:00 pm, national electricity demand touched 16,157 MW against an available generation capacity of 14,273 MW, resulting in an immediate shortfall of 1,884 MW. An hour earlier at 4:00 pm, the deficit climbed to its daytime peak of 1,935 MW, with demand recorded at 16,024 MW against a grid supply of 14,089 MW.
The strain had been mounting steadily from mid-afternoon. At 3:00 pm, the national deficit stood at 1,891 MW as the system delivered 14,043 MW against a requirement of 15,934 MW. Although early daytime figures were relatively modest—a shortfall of 786 MW at 1:00 pm and 667 MW at 2:00 pm—shortages deepened rapidly as industrial and domestic loads rose. Overnight operations on Friday into Saturday faced severe stress: at 2:00 am, the gap reached 2,099 MW against a 16,015 MW demand, while at 3:00 am the shortfall stood at 2,035 MW when generation hovered at 13,863 MW against an aggregate demand of 15,898 MW.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Chairman Engineer Rezaul Karim confirmed that while natural gas allocations remained relatively stable, generation from coal-fired plants fell sharply. He noted that cross-border imports from India’s Adani Group power plant in Godda dropped significantly, alongside diurnal production dips at domestic mega-projects, including Patuakhali’s Norinco, the Payra thermal power plant, and the Matarbari deep-sea power station. Output from Norinco and Matarbari showed modest improvements by evening, while Adani representatives gave assurances that they were working to raise generation levels.
According to grid dispatch data, electricity inflows from Adani’s plant fell to 955 MW by 1:00 am on Saturday, down 349 MW from the 1,304 MW registered at midnight, with output lingering between 800 MW and 900 MW for extensive stretches of the day. Domestic production suffered parallel drops, with Payra delivering roughly 300 MW less than its typical threshold, while Norinco and Matarbari together generated around 600 MW below expected parameters.
The supply shortfall translated into substantial disruptions for city distribution companies. An official from the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) stated that peak demand reached 2,333 MW against a 250 MW local deficit, compelling the utility to enforce rotational load-shedding of two to three rounds per neighbourhood.
The Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO), which manages the northern parts of the metropolis, reported a demand of approximately 1,500 MW against an acute 400 MW shortfall. The widening gap forced DESCO to impose rotational outages of at least four hours across several residential and commercial zones. Utility planners warned that despite reasonable gas availability, constraints in primary coal supply and cross-border power flows continue to place severe operational pressure on the national grid.
