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For instance, when the gas pressure improves, the company’s Tongi and Rajendrapur units work on spinning and dyeing and the rest of the time, they do other work.

The group’s gas bills increased to Tk 70 crore per month from Tk 35 crore since February this year although the pressure of gas is still low, said Chowdhury. The company can run at 50 per cent capacity now.

“If the situation does not improve soon, local factories will face problems in making exports and paying workers,” said Mohammad Hatem, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

In the end, factory owners will fail to repay loans as they will not be able to make a profit, he said.

“The situation is very bad. A dearth of energy is a big concern now,” said Md Jashim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

“Running a business with diesel-run generations is very expensive. So, output has fallen and the cost of production has increased.”

Also, a demand of businesses for lowering the duty on the import of solar panels has not been met in the proposed budget, he said.

Sameer Sattar, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, echoed Jashim.

He suggested entrepreneurs use energy-efficient equipment to run factories.