Severe Fuel Crisis Hits Chattogram as Six Power Plants Shut Down

Greater Chattogram is facing a severe energy crisis, with six of the region’s 28 power plants currently shut down and another seven operating at only around one-third of their capacity.

As power generation continues to fall, residents across Chattogram are experiencing prolonged load shedding. With temperatures rising, many areas of the city are reportedly going without uninterrupted electricity for even an hour at a time. The frequent outages have also disrupted water supplies to households, as residents are unable to receive water from the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA).

In rural areas of Chattogram, residents are reportedly facing eight to 10 hours of load shedding a day.

According to a report by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB), six of the 28 power plants in the region have stopped production, while generation at several others has dropped significantly.

The plants currently shut down include Hathazari Power Plant, Kaptai Solar (7.4 MW), Rauzan-1 and Rauzan-2 (two 210 MW plants), Teknaf Solar (20 MW), and United Power (50 MW).

Meanwhile, production has fallen to roughly one-third of capacity at several plants, including Anlima Energy Ltd. (116 MW), Anwara United (300 MW), Baraka (50 MW), Baraka Karnaphuli, Juldha-1, Juldha-2, and Zodiac (54 MW).

Despite the worsening situation, PDB officials maintain that there is no shortage of electricity in Chattogram and that supply is currently matching demand. According to PDB figures, peak-hour demand in Chattogram stands at 1,068.79 MW, with an equivalent amount of electricity being supplied. During off-peak hours, demand is around 958.87 MW, which officials say is also being fully supplied.

However, residents and businesses report a different reality, saying load shedding is occurring for hours every day.

On Wednesday, the Kalpolok residential area experienced load shedding from approximately 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Although PDB records reportedly showed zero megawatts of load shedding, the actual shortfall was estimated to be more than 200 MW.

Residents in areas including Patharghata, Askar Dighi Par, Halishahar, Kalurghat and Bayezid Bostami, as well as surrounding industrial zones, said they have been experiencing frequent power outages for several days. Many areas are reportedly without electricity for eight to 10 hours a day.

The power crisis has also affected industrial production. Factories in the Bayezid Bostami industrial area and elsewhere have reportedly seen production decline by as much as 30 percent. Even running generators has failed to fully offset the disruption at factories, apartment buildings and large offices.

CUFL Production Halted for More Than Five Months

Meanwhile, production at Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL) has remained suspended for more than five months due to a shortage of natural gas.

The fertilizer factory last operated on March 3 and was shut down the following day because of inadequate gas supplies. The prolonged shutdown has caused significant financial losses for the company and created uncertainty over the livelihoods of more than 1,000 workers and employees.

CUFL requires approximately 45 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas to operate at full production. However, the facility has not been receiving enough gas to resume operations.

CUFL Deputy General Manager (Administration) Samiran Marma told Jugantor that fertilizer production has remained suspended since March 4 because the company has not been receiving gas according to its requirements.

He said the company is expected to receive a gas supply toward the end of this month, which could allow production to resume.

If the current energy crisis continues, officials and industry stakeholders fear that additional power plants could also be forced to shut down, further worsening the electricity situation across Chattogram.