Shamchul Islam; Dbarta24 — A ray of hope has emerged amid Bangladesh’s crippling energy crisis, as preparations were finalized late Wednesday night to restart one of the boilers at the damaged Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar.
The partial operationalization of the Excelerate Energy-operated terminal is expected to restore limited regasification of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), offering immediate relief to a nationwide shortage that has impacted households, industries, and power generation for weeks.
According to Petrobangla sources, a single operational boiler can process approximately 250 to 300 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD).
If a scheduled LNG cargo successfully berths on Thursday to replenish dwindling terminal stocks, this equivalent volume can be injected directly into the national grid.
However, officials cautioned that supply will not return to normal until the second damaged boiler is repaired and the facility reaches full capacity.
Widespread Impact Across Sectors
The terminal was forced offline following a fire incident on July 21, causing an immediate supply drop of nearly 520 MMCFD.
As a result, the country’s total gas supply plummeted to around 2,130 MMCFD—far short of the daily national demand of 3,800 MMCFD.
Managing Director of Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL), Engr. Md. Salahuddin, confirmed to reporters in Chattogram that a short supply of around 500 MMCFD over recent days had severely strained distribution networks across the country.
The severe deficit has triggered widespread disruption:
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Residential & Transport Sector: Capital city Dhaka and other major regions report extremely low gas pressure, leaving households struggling to cook during peak hours. Long queues have formed at CNG stations, stranding drivers for hours and reducing public transport on roads.
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Industrial Sector: Low pressure has drastically reduced factory outputs. Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, Director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), stated that while no garment factories have officially closed, production at five to six textile mills in the Chattogram region has ground to a complete halt, threatening massive financial losses for exporters.
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Power Generation: Gas allocation for power generation dropped sharply from 990 MMCFD to 670 MMCFD, forcing gas-fired power plants to operate below capacity. Consequently, load-shedding surged up to 3,000 megawatts (MW) in recent days, though recent rainfall temporarily eased demand to around 12,000 MW on Wednesday afternoon.
Energy experts emphasize that while restarting the first boiler is a crucial step forward, stabilizing Bangladesh’s energy grid permanently will require fully restoring the second boiler and ensuring an uninterrupted schedule of LNG cargo deliveries.
Until both boilers are functional, industries, residential consumers, and power plants will continue to operate under constrained supplies.