SOURCE:
Power Grid Collapse In Bangladesh Leaves 140 Million People In Dark | ZeroHedge
Bangladesh's national power grid collapsed Tuesday afternoon, plunging 140 million people, or nearly everyone in the country, into darkness, AFP reported.
#UPDATE About 140 million people in Bangladesh were without power on Tuesday afternoon after a grid failure caused widespread blackouts, the government's power utility company said pic.twitter.com/j954v6itQr
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 4, 2022
Reuters spoke with officials at the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board, who said power transmission failed in the eastern part of the country and then tripped power plants nationwide, cutting off power to the capital, Dhaka, and other major metro areas.
Bangladesh Power Development Board official Shameem Hasan said engineers are investigating 'glitches' in the power system. He said restoring the system could take several hours once issues are resolved.
"We are trying to restore the system," Hasan said.
AFP outlined Bangladesh's electricity grid has been in turmoil for months:
Prices of energy as well as food as other staples have soared worldwide in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, including in Asia.
This has wrought havoc on Bangladesh's electricity grid in recent months, with utilities struggling to source enough diesel and gas to meet demand.
A depreciating currency and dwindling foreign exchange reserves left Bangladesh unable to import sufficient fossil fuels, forcing it to close diesel plants and leave some gas-fired power stations idle.
Bangladesh is one of the world's largest garment exporters after China. The country is also an emerging outsourcing destination for business operations, such as call centers...