Electricity is not merely a light that comes on when a switch is turned on. It is deeply connected to almost every aspect of people’s lives, including education, healthcare, agriculture, business, employment, and everyday living. Yet when electricity goes out repeatedly, the darkness falls not only inside homes but also across people’s daily lives. Once, load shedding was considered a constant companion of rural people, while cities seemed largely free from it. But that picture is changing. After the villages, people in urban areas are now also facing prolonged and frequent load shedding. In the intense heat of the day, the lack of electricity is increasingly putting normal life into question.

As the intensity of the heat rises after the monsoon, so does the demand for electricity. Fans, air conditioners, refrigerators, water pumps, offices, factories almost everything depends on electricity. As a result, even a slight gap between demand and supply can create a major crisis when demand increases. The situation in rural areas is even more difficult. Many families there are still deprived of uninterrupted electricity. Frequent power outages, sometimes several times a day, are disrupting agriculture, small businesses, and students’ education. For a person sitting in the courtyard of a rural home in the darkness of night, load shedding is not a statistic; it is a long wait that has become part of everyday life. But now cities are experiencing the same wait. Complaints of frequent power outages are increasing in Dhaka and other urban areas. The city dweller who once told relatives in the village, “There is no load shedding here,” is now also finding themselves sitting by the window, waiting for the electricity to return.

The greatest impact of load shedding falls on ordinary people. Low- and middle-income families, in particular, have to bear the greatest burden. When electricity goes out, children struggle to sleep in the heat, elderly people suffer discomfort, and sick people face even greater difficulties. Many families simply cannot afford generators, IPS systems, or the fuel required to operate them regularly. The situation in rural areas is even more complex. When electricity is unavailable for irrigation, farmers face delays in supplying water to their fields. Small shops and workshops have to suspend their operations. Students cannot properly prepare for their examinations. Online classes and other essential activities are also disrupted. The problem is no less serious in cities. When an office remains without electricity for several hours, the pace of work comes to a halt. Online businesses, freelancing, technology-based professions, and small entrepreneurs all suffer disruptions. In residential areas, the failure of water pumps during power outages creates another crisis water shortages. In other words, the impact of load shedding is not limited to simply having “no electricity.” It brings with it wasted time, economic losses, mental stress, and uncertainty in everyday life.

There are multiple reasons behind the electricity crisis. A gap between demand and supply, fuel shortages, maintenance of power plants, and limitations in transmission and distribution systems all contribute to the complexity of the situation. There is also the question of management. Long-term planning is essential to determine how much electricity is required in different areas, when demand is likely to rise, and how production and distribution can be balanced effectively. Taking temporary measures only after a crisis emerges cannot provide a permanent solution. Another issue is equally important ensuring an uninterrupted supply of electricity is just as important as increasing generation. Increasing power generation alone will not solve the problem if weak transmission and distribution systems prevent that electricity from reaching people’s homes.

The first requirement for addressing load shedding is realistic and long-term planning. Alongside increasing generation capacity based on accurate assessments of electricity demand and supply, the availability of fuel must also be ensured. Second, modernizing the transmission and distribution systems is essential. If the pressure of growing demand continues to fall on outdated infrastructure, the problem will only become more severe. At the same time, the disparity in electricity supply between rural and urban areas must be reduced. Third, the use of renewable energy can be expanded. In particular, the effective use of solar power and other alternative energy sources in rural areas could help reduce pressure on the national electricity system. Most importantly, people need reliable information when load shedding occurs. If there is a predetermined and realistic schedule indicating when electricity will be unavailable and for how long, people can at least plan their activities accordingly. In many cases, uncertainty causes greater suffering than the absence of electricity itself.

The darkness of load shedding takes away the natural rhythm of people’s lives. Just as a farmer in a village waits for electricity with an irrigation pump standing idle, a student in the city may sit sweating in a room without a fan while trying to study for an examination the night before. Their lives are different, and so are their needs, but their experience of darkness is the same. We often measure development through large infrastructure projects, bridges, roads, or buildings. Yet the simplest measure of development should be how peacefully a person can live their everyday life. Whether there is light in their home, whether their child can study at night, whether a farmer can irrigate their field on time these questions are also part of development. Electricity is no longer a luxury, it is an indispensable part of people’s basic way of life. Therefore, telling rural people to simply become accustomed to load shedding is unjust, just as repeatedly leaving urban residents in darkness cannot be considered a normal reality. The progress of a country becomes meaningful to its people only when the light of that progress actually reaches their homes. Providing electricity is not merely the responsibility of power plants; it also requires planning, management, accountability, and a commitment to people. Therefore, load shedding should not be treated as a temporary inconvenience. It must be viewed as a long-term national infrastructural challenge that requires sustainable solutions. Because people may eventually become accustomed to living in darkness, but the story of a country’s development should never be built upon it.