Around 21 districts in the southern region of the country, including the entire Barishal Division and parts of Khulna Division, were plunged into darkness on Saturday evening following a major power grid failure.
According to officials at Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), the grid collapse began at 5:45 pm in one district and then gradually spread across the 21 districts, reports UNB.
However, the power transmission was restored within 45 minutes to one hour in all the affected areas, they said.
"A good number of districts had their power supply restored within 15 to 20 minutes due to the prompt measures taken by PGCB," said the transmission entity in an official statement.
It added that the transmission system is currently operating normally following the restoration across the Barishal and Khulna regions.
The reason behind the massive grid failure could not be confirmed immediately, as no PGCB official could determine the exact cause as of filing this report.
So far, no committee has been formed to investigate the incident, an official said.
Meanwhile, Energy Affairs Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan earlier on the day expected the countrywide electricity supply situation to remain tolerable throughout summer with import of extra volume of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and coal for power production.
"The government has been trying to keep load shedding (power rationing) at a tolerable stage during the summer season, for which we are importing additional LNG and other fuels including coal," he told a seminar on Energy Crisis: Way Forward, held at Bidyut Bhaban, according to a BSS report.
Khan said there will be no discrimination in electricity supply between urban and rural areas as he asked Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) to submit power supply reports across the country.
© 2025 - All Rights with The Financial Express
