On Tuesday, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission announced that all residences, private and public offices, businesses and shops are now prohibited to use air conditioners from 6 pm to 11 pm every day. However, hospitals, restaurants, and hotels do not fall under this restriction.
BERC also issued an order saying that AC temperature cannot be set below 25 degrees centigrade during off-peak hours. On Monday, all fertilizer factories were shut down to divert gas to power plants. BERC said that such strong measures are necessary to fight the ongoing problem of power outages in the country.
Zahurul Alam, VOA correspondent in Dhaka, reports on the opinion of the Finance Minister on the power crisis.