Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Bangladesh suffered power outages on Saturday when the Bangladesh-India power interconnection line at Bheramara in Kushtia tripped.
The national power grid suffered a breakdown at about 11:30 am on the day following a major technical fault at the grid line receiving electricity from India, disrupting both the power distribution and generation.
“Possibly, the technical glitch took place at Baharampur point from where India sends electricity to Bangladesh grid substation at Bheramara point,” a state-run Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) official said.
After the disaster, the entire power transmission and distribution collapsed, plunging the country into blackout, according to reports.
Another PGCB official said a major breakdown at the Indian power generation and transmission system that led to the collapse in power system in Bangladesh as Bangladesh’s grid system is connected with the neighbouring country for power import.
Following the technical glitch, all the power generation units across the country instantly went off leading to the full collapse of the power distribution system.
The PGCB has been able to restore power supply in Sylhet area through resuming power generation at power plants in Sylhet and Shahjibazar areas in Bangladesh.
“We’re very cautiously restarting power generation at different plants to avoid any further interruption,” the PGCB official noted.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu told media that he is expecting to restore “almost normalcy” in power generation by evening.
A committee has been formed to investigate the power failure across the country, the state minister said adding that the body will submit a report in three days after investigation.
“The prime minister is aware of the every measure taken for restoring the power supply,” the state minister said, adding that electricity supply has resumed on emergency basis at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and major hospitals.
BBN/SSR/AD-01NOv14-4:42 pm (BST)
