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DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Power in Bangladesh has been restored after the South Asian country suffered a blackout following the shutdown of its national power grid, officials said.
The blackout, which affected much of the country, began at 2 p. m. on Tuesday and lasted only about seven hours before the force was fully restored at 9 p. m. The cause of the problem was not long in coming.
Many major grocery shopping malls in the capital, Dhaka, closed early Tuesday. Elsewhere, other people piled up at gas stations to collect diesel to run backup turbines and market vendors operated by candlelight.
Nasul Hamid, deputy minister of electricity, force and mineral resources, said in a statement that he regretted the “temporary inconveniences” caused by the blackout.
Officials from the state-run Bangladesh Energy Development Board said electricity transmission had failed in the east of the country.
All power plants have been shut down and power has been cut in Dhaka and other major cities, said Shameem Hasan, spokesman for the power department.
Bangladesh’s impressive recent economic expansion has been threatened by power shortages since the government suspended operations at all diesel-forced plants to reduce import costs as they skyrocketed. generation up to 1,500 megawatts.
Earlier this month, Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the scenario is so dire that garment factories are now without power for 4 to 10 hours a day. Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of clothing in the world. after China, and gets more than 80% of its total foreign exchange from garment exports.
Last month, the Asian Development Bank said in a report that Bangladesh’s economic expansion would slow to 6. 6 from its previous forecast of 7. 1 for the current fiscal year.
Lower customer spending due to weak export demand, domestic production constraints and other points are slowdowns, he said.
The Associated Press