2014 Bangladesh blackout

The 2014 Bangladesh blackout was a power outage that occurred across Bangladesh on the morning of November 2, 2014.[1][2] The blackout lasted for almost 10 hours.[3][4]

Cause

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The blackout began after a technical issue in the transmission line distributing power from India.[5][6][7]

Bangladesh has a severe generation deficit relative to demand, and normal system operations already ration electricity in rolling blackouts. Following a transmission line failure, Bangladesh cannot increase local generation to match demand; all local generation is already used. Nor can Bangladesh easily import power; it has no synchronous links to the much larger Indian grid. Instead, Bangladesh relies on underfrequency load shedding to temporarily increase the blackout size and stabilize the grid.[2]

Around 11:30 pm on November 1, the (asynchronous) HVDC connection between India and Bangladesh failed, removing 444 MW of imported power. Because the event occurred late at night, the circuits attached to underfrequency relays were less heavily loaded than usual, and could not restore the nominal system 50 Hz frequency, settling at 49 Hz. The persistent disturbance then caused the system to collapse.[2]

Areas affected

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Due to the blackout, electricity was cut in the capital city. Some areas affected by this power outage are Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet as well as other big cities and towns across the country.[8]

Impact

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Shops were forced to close and due to no electricity, hospitals had to use generators but the patients still had to face difficulties as some of the equipment needed for the tests stopped working.[9] Food in homes also spoiled due to powerless refrigerators.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Bangladesh electricity restored after major blackout". BBC News. 2014-11-02. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  2. ^ a b c Kabir, Md. Arifur; Sajeeb, M. Mahmudul Hasan; Chowdhury, Syed Md. Sifat Morshed; Chowdhury, A. Hasib (21–23 December 2015). Analysis of real time frequency transients and inertia estimation of Bangladesh power system. 18th International Conference on Computer and Information Technology. pp. 117–118. doi:10.1109/ICCITechn.2015.7488053. Adapted from "Frequency transient analysis of countrywide blackout of Bangladesh power system on 1 November, 2014".
  3. ^ "Bangladesh blackout nearly over as power restored to major cities".
  4. ^ "Nationwide blackout in Bangladesh ends – LA Times". Los Angeles Times. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Bangladesh electricity blackouts after power line fails". BBC News. 2014-11-01. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  6. ^ "Bangladesh grapples with nationwide blackout". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  7. ^ "Nasrul: Lack in electricity management caused blackout – Dhaka Tribune". dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Nationwide blackout in Bangladesh ends". Los Angeles Times. 2014-11-02. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  9. ^ Manik, Julfikar Ali; Najar, Nida (2014-11-01). "Electricity Returns to Bangladesh After Power Failure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  10. ^ Mullen, Jethro; Ahmed, Farid (2014-11-02). "Tens of millions left without power after nationwide blackout hits Bangladesh". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-17.