The demand for electricity in the coming irrigation season might be as high as 17,800 megawatts (MW), up by 11.25 per cent from the current year's projection.
The forecast was made during an inter-ministerial coordination meeting, convened by the Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources on Thursday.
Against this year's projection, the highest electricity generation was recorded at 15,648 MW during the irrigation season on 19 April 2023.
Currently, the country's overall electricity generation is hovering around 10,000 MW.
The irrigation season usually begins in January and ends in April every year.
Currently, a total of 487,851 irrigation pumps have power connections, the meeting was informed.
Some 9,432 more applications are up for connections.
According to the meeting, 347 MW would be required for irrigation in January, 865 MW in February, 1,949 MW in March, 2,590 MW in April and 2,590 MW in May.
It also discussed measures taken to enhance supply of natural gas, furnace oil and diesel to ramp up power generation and priority-basis gas supply to gas-fired power plants for uninterrupted power generation.
The meeting projected that up to 1,760 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas might be required during the next irrigation season. The minimum required gas supply will be 1,540 mmcfd.
Some 154,950 tonnes of furnace oil and 15,600 tonnes of diesel will also be required for irrigation.
During the meeting, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) officials were asked to ensure smooth transportation and supply of imported petroleum fuels to power plants through communication with Road Transportation Ministry, Railway Ministry, Roads and Highway Department, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, Petrobangla and Barapukuria Coal Mining Company.
They were also directed to repair transmission and distribution lines and ensure at least two months' storage of fuel for power generation at the plants and also form monitoring teams.
Power secretary Habibur Rahman, energy secretary Md Nurul Alam, BPDB chairman Md Mahbubur Rahman, Petrobangla chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker and Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain were present.
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