Country reels under gas, electricity crisis

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FE Report
The country is reeling under gas and power crisis again as generation has aggravating public sufferings, reached the lowest level since the onset of the current summer with mounting woes of sluggish business activities and fall in industrial output.
Frequent power outages coupled with low gas pressure are taking heavy toll in every sphere of day to day life and in fields and factories.
Overall electricity generation Wednesday was around 3,700 megawatt (MW), down by 500 MW from the previous week's average of 4200 MW, while gas output was less by around 100 million cubic feet (mmcf) from the month's average of 1980 mmcf.
State-owned Petrobangla said the abrupt suspension of gas production at the Irish Tullow-operated Bangora gas field deteriorated the countrywide electricity supply and caused natural gas crisis.
Tullow has suspended gas production of around 120 mmcf from Bangora field under block-9 since Monday evening following a transmission line glitch.
Petrobangla has asked US Chevron to ramp up gas supply from Bibiyana and Jalalabad fields to reduce the gas supply shortfall.
Chevron augmented gas supply of around 50 mmcf from these fields to the national gas grid Wednesday.
PDB officials said gas supply shortfall led to closure of Tongi, Haripur and newly installed Shiddhirganj power plants.
Low gas pressure has reduced power generation of Ashuganj, Mymensingh, Baghabari, Rauzan and Shikalbaha power plants.
Gas crisis led to suspension of around 1000 MW of electricity Wednesday.
Consumers, especially at Mirpur, Kalyanpur, Badda, Rampura, Khilgaon, Jatrabari, Nawabpur and parts of old Dhaka have been the worst sufferers due to gas crisis and frequent load-shedding.
In Dhaka, load shedding was the highest at 400 MW followed by 154 MW in Chittagong, 153 MW in Khulna, 131 MW in Rajshahi, 113 MW in Comilla, 29 MW in Mynamsingh, 27 MW in Barisal and 79 MW in Rangpur.