Plan better to reduce rural power outage

It is a matter of great disappointment that, even though every citizen of Bangladesh is entitled to fair and equal treatment and service, in reality, that does not always seem to be the case. Take power outages, for example. As load-shedding is becoming a regular feature in our lives, our fellow citizens living in the rural parts of the country are bearing the brunt of it, enduring hours of power outages.

Data from the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) reveals that a majority of its 3.58 crore subscribers are suffering from long spells of power outages. The worst-hit districts include Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Netrakona, Cox's Bazar, Narsingdi and Rangpur. That this is happening when the nation is sizzling under an insufferable spell of heatwave makes it even worse. Besides making the oppressive heat intolerable, these outages are also affecting people's livelihoods. A fish farmer in Mymensingh said she was struggling to keep her business running because of long periods of load-shedding.

Increased power outages during the warmer months are not an unexpected phenomenon, especially since we have been struggling with a fuel crisis in the wake of a dollar crunch, not to mention global political and economic turmoil over the past couple of years. But given that this situation has been our reality for some time now, we cannot help but ask: did the power authorities not anticipate this crisis? Did they not plan accordingly so that people living in the rural areas would not have to be the worst victims of load-shedding—as they always are?

In the meantime, the country is burdened with the overcapacity of power generation. We have more power plants than needed, for which we are paying hefty sums in capacity charges. This situation, in our view, is the result of poor, shortsighted policymaking. We urge the government to take stock of the situation and figure out ways to meet the rising electricity demand fairly and equitably, especially in the coming months. For that, some urgent steps must be taken, such as exploring domestic sources of fuel on a priority basis, repurposing the existing resources to generate more power, etc. Our rural population is vital for the smooth operation of the economy; their lives must not be unfairly disrupted by excessive power outages.