Jhenaidah District is facing widespread disruption as prolonged load-shedding continues to affect daily life, businesses and essential services amid an ongoing electricity shortfall linked to fuel supply constraints and high seasonal demand.
Officials say the situation has worsened due to a significant gap between electricity demand and supply. Combined demand from Jhenaidah Palli Bidyut Samity and the West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL) stands at around 129 megawatts, while available supply is only about 77 megawatts, creating a daily deficit of approximately 52 megawatts.
The rural electricity provider, Jhenaidah Palli Bidyut Samity, which serves over 4.4 lakh consumers including residential, agricultural and commercial users, reported receiving only 42 megawatts against a demand of 75 megawatts on Thursday.
This has forced authorities to implement repeated rotational load-shedding across different feeders.
Residents say the frequent outages are making life increasingly difficult, especially under intense heat conditions. Many people report long hours without electricity, with some areas experiencing outages lasting up to seven hours a day. Rural households say power cuts are often unpredictable, occurring multiple times even during night hours.
The West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd also reported a shortfall, receiving only 39 megawatts against a peak requirement of up to 60 megawatts. Officials confirmed that both urban and rural consumers are being affected, with nearly 90,000 consumers in the district town facing regular disruptions.
Business leaders say the ongoing power crisis is impacting industrial production and causing financial losses for small and medium enterprises. Educators and residents also warn that frequent outages are disrupting students’ studies and affecting vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.
Power officials said load-shedding is unavoidable due to reduced national grid supply and added that there is currently no clear timeline for improvement.
