Factories, farmers bear brunt of load shedding in Naogaon

Acute load shedding caused by a shortfall in electricity supply is disrupting industrial production and irrigation in Naogaon, with factories cutting output and farmers struggling to keep Aman rice fields irrigated amid persistent hot weather.

Areas outside the district town are facing power outages of up to seven to eight hours a day while industries are increasingly relying on diesel-run generators to keep their operations going.

The additional fuel costs are squeezing profit margins, forcing some businesses to reduce operating hours despite continued demand for their products.
Naogaon, one of Bangladesh's major rice-producing districts, has more than 700 rice mills. The district also has numerous small and large factories producing food and food products, agricultural machinery, plastics and light-engineering goods.

At Ghosh Automatic Rice Mill in Sultanpur of Naogaon municipality, which falls under the Northern Electricity Supply Company (Nesco), power was unavailable for around four hours between noon on Wednesday (12 August) and 11am on Thursday (13 August).

"We faced load shedding five to six times in the last 24 hours. Each outage lasted around an hour," said mill owner Dwijen Ghosh.

He said the mill has been using diesel to keep its machinery running during outages, sharply increasing production costs.

"Even though there is demand for our products we are having to shut the mill to save on diesel costs. If this continues, it will become impossible to keep the factory running," he said.

At Nasim Brothers Automatic Rice Mill in Naogaon BSCIC industrial estate, manager Saiful Islam said the factory is experiencing five to six hours of load shedding every day, with individual outages lasting one to one and a half hours.

"Production has fallen by around 30 percent," he said.

Although the mill has a generator running it continuously is too expensive because of the rising cost of diesel, he added.

The situation is also affecting businesses in the town.

Zahidul Haque, manager of Panchbhai Hotel and Restaurant in Kajir Mor area, said load shedding had increased since the beginning of August alongside the rise in temperatures.
"We open the hotel early in the morning and close at 11pm. During this period, electricity goes out and returns at least five or six times," he said.

The situation is worse in rural areas, with some villages receiving electricity for only 18 to 19 hours a day, said locals.

The outages are not only disrupting businesses but also creating difficulties for farmers during the Aman season.

At a deep tube well operated by the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) in Gobindapur village of Niamatpur upazila, operator Firoz Hossain said electricity is unavailable for six to seven hours a day.

"There has not been enough rain, so farmers need irrigation for their Aman fields. A field that normally takes two hours to irrigate now takes three to four hours because of load shedding," he said. "If this continues, it will become difficult to protect the rice plants."

Saiful Islam, a cloth trader at Thana Mor in Dhamoirhat upazila headquarters, said businesses are struggling to cope with the heat and frequent outages.

Traders in the market have an arrangement with a local generator operator to receive electricity during power cuts. Under the previous agreement, each trader paid Tk 500 a month.

"But with six to seven hours of load shedding a day, the generator operator cannot supply electricity all the time. Now he is asking each trader for Tk 1,000 a month," he said.

Owners of automatic rice mills, husking mills and cold storage facilities are also facing mounting difficulties and have been repeatedly requesting the authorities to ensure electricity supply according to demand.

According to officials, Nesco supplies electricity to Naogaon municipality and parts of Badalgachhi and Patnitala upazilas. The rest of the district is served by Naogaon Palli Bidyut Samity-1 and Naogaon Palli Bidyut Samity-2.

The district's combined electricity demand averages around 95 megawatts during peak and off-peak hours.

However, the area is currently receiving 30 to 40 percent less electricity than the demand, according to official sources.

Mahbub Zia, general manager of Naogaon Palli Bidyut Samity-2, said his area required around 70MW of electricity a day but was currently receiving 30 to 35 percent less than the demand.

"This shortage is causing hardship in people's normal lives and work as well as affecting overall economic activities," he said.

State Minister for Power and Energy Aninda Islam Amit on Tuesday acknowledged significant gaps between demand and supply of electricity and gas, saying the government is working on a time-bound action plan to address the crisis. 
"There is no immediate solution to the problems in the power and energy sectors. We need a specific action plan, and the government must move forward accordingly," he said while speaking at a seminar titled "Crisis in the Fuel Sector: Prospects and Path Forward" at Dhaka Club.

Accepting responsibility for the difficulties faced by people due to power and energy shortages, Amit apologised to consumers on behalf of the government and his ministry.
He said the country has around 30,000 MW of installed power generation capacity, but a shortage of fuel, particularly gas, is preventing power plants from operating at full capacity.