Electricity supply will be normal by Wednesday: Nasrul Hamid

State Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said the power supply to 70% of cyclone Sitrang-affected areas will be restored by Tuesday evening and the remaining 30% will get electricity by Wednesday afternoon.

Efforts are underway to restore electricity supply for 80 lakh people who are facing load shedding right as the cyclone hit Bangladesh, he said while briefing reporters yesterday.

"Of the total, 60 lakh are under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board and the rest are of other organisations like Nesco and WZPDCO," he said.

There are 4.8 crore consumers across the country.

"We are trying to restore electricity connection for consumers as soon as possible," he noted, adding that hospitals and other essential establishments will be given priority.

Around 2,000 electric poles, including 800 poles of the Rural Electrification Board (REB), have been damaged in the cyclone, he said.

The state minister, however, said the total damage was not calculated yet. "It will take some more time to get a complete picture of the damage," he said.

The majority of the district experienced power outages for hours.

TBS Lakshmipur correspondent said most parts of the district had still remained without electricity until 8pm on Tuesday since Sunday night as Palli Bidyut connections were not restored.

Lakshmipur's Palli Bidyut Samity General Manager Zakir Hossain said 365 electric poles were damaged in the cyclone severing some 450 connections in the district.

The estimated damage is approximately Tk50 lakh, he added.

At least 15 lakh REB customers in Barishal division still remained without power.

There are more than 23 lakh under six Palli Bidyut samities in six districts of the division. Electricity transmission lines, stations and other infrastructures have been damaged due to hostile weather and heavy rain under the cyclone impact since Sunday.

Palli Bidyut workers and engineers had been repairing these lines since Tuesday morning. At the same time, the broken and uprooted trees were being removed with the help of fire service personnel.

As of Tuesday afternoon, power supply to about 40% of consumers were restored.

Under Patuakhali Palli Bidyut Samiti, power supply was not fully restored in Barguna district till Tuesday afternoon. As a result, electricity consumers of the district are suffering greatly.

Although the power connection was snapped for a long time in Cumilla, electricity started restoring to the city on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the power supply in Satkhira remained normal, according to local sources.