Bangladesh is facing record power cuts as fuel shortages, severe gas shortages and reduced generation at several major coal-fired plants have pushed electricity output down to around 12,500MW.

According to Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), load shedding peaked at 3,757MW at 1am on Monday night. Demand stood at 16,262MW, while only 12,505MW was supplied.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said average demand on Monday was 17,403MW, against load shedding of 2,722MW.

Gas-fired power plants are among the hardest hit. Their combined capacity exceeds 12,000MW, but generation has fallen to around 3,800–4,000MW because of inadequate gas supplies.

Gas supply declined sharply following an accident at the floating LNG terminal in Maheshkhali on July 21. Supply, which was around 2.65 billion cubic feet per day before the incident, has yet to fully recover.

Coal-fired plants are generating around 5,500MW against capacity of nearly 7,945MW, while electricity imports from India have also declined.

Oil-fired plants are being used to cover the shortfall, but their higher generation costs are increasing financial pressure on the BPDB. The utility’s outstanding payments to power plants have reached nearly Tk50,000 crore.

Experts warn that the power supply situation could worsen if temperatures rise and electricity demand increases.