The severe cyclone ‘Remal’ has wreaked havoc on the power infrastructure in the country’s southern districts, causing financial losses estimated at Tk 1.08 billion. State-run power entities provided this preliminary estimation on Tuesday, highlighting the extensive damage caused by the storm.

Around 17.31 million consumers, accounting for 36.83% of the total in the region, were without power until Tuesday night. This outage impacted both rural and urban areas, with frequent disruptions reported even in the capital, official sources indicated.

The Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) bore the brunt of the damage, with losses estimated at Tk 1.03 billion. The West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL) also reported losses of Tk 50.78 million.

Most of those still awaiting power restoration, approximately 17.17 million consumers, fall under BREB’s jurisdiction, while the remaining 144,628 are within WZPDCL areas. The cyclone severely disrupted power transmission and distribution, particularly under BREB’s franchise.

On Tuesday, a statement from the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) revealed that power connections were either fully or partially disrupted in 65 out of 80 Palli Bidyut Samitees (PBSs). However, by Tuesday night, power supply had been restored to 80% of the affected consumers.

Efforts to alleviate the suffering of the remaining 20% are ongoing, with initiatives such as door-to-door services and repairing damaged electric meters. More than 30,000 BREB employees are actively working in the field to restore power across the affected regions.

Employees from other state-run power entities are also contributing to the restoration efforts under the directives of the Power Division. The overall electricity generation, which had dropped to around 3,700 MW on Monday, is gradually improving, officials reported.

Despite these efforts, people across the country continue to endure significant load-shedding. Businesses and commercial operations face disruptions, further complicating the recovery process in many parts of the country.