WE are not into the summer yet, but the old problem is back to cause us misery again. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the people to bear with oad-shedding, the situation made worse for the students who are taking the SSC exams. And the problem is not restricted to the capital only but has also affected almost the entire country.1

We were given to understand that the present government had planned to deal with the shortfall and manage the deficit by adding to the current level of electricity generation, and implementing appropriate measures to make the shortage bearable. It appears from reports that it has not been the case. Providing villages with electricity between 12 midnight and 8 in the morning makes little sense at this moment. One wonders what a farming household will do with it except to run the irrigation pumps - which in any case is not required just at this moment. It all goes to show the poor planning in managing the shortage of electricity.

We are aware that not a single megawatt of electricity was added to the grid during the tenure of the last regime. And our requirement for it increases by the day. But one feels that there should be a method in the load-shedding to allow people from various walks of life to plan their routine accordingly. As for Dhaka metropolitan area we were given the assurance not long ago by very responsible officials of DESA that it would follow a routine, and localities would be informed in advance of the timings when they would be without electricity. That has not been the case either.

Not only are mills and factories affected by it, most households also had to do without drinking water due to water pumps made dysfunctional on account of prolonged periods of power outage.

There is a need to address the matter holistically. Efforts must be made to add to the existing capacity while at the same time ensure that the generating units produce to their optimum capacity. This is hindered at the moment due to shortage of gas supply to the gas-fired units. This has to be redressed. Some short-term measures like renting power from captive generating units which are under consideration of the government must be implemented urgently.