Bangladesh has a pattern of heavy rains and power cuts. Every monsoon season, lightning strikes on transformers, storm-damaged lines or flooded substations cause sudden power outages for millions of households in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and rural districts. Most people don’t know that there is a proper, formal way to report these outages and doing it the right way can greatly reduce your time waiting for restoration.
This guide will walk you through all you need to know.
Know Your Distributor Company First
The supply of electricity in Bangladesh is the responsibility of several distribution companies under the umbrella of BPDB. Before you call or file a complaint, it’s important to know which company serves your area (each has its own response team):
- BPDB – South Chittagong, Mymensingh, Comilla, Sylhet
- DPDC – Narayanganj, Tongi, South Dhaka DESCO – North Dhaka
- BREB (Palli Bidyut) — Rural and semi-urban areas of Bangladesh WZPDCL — Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur divisions
- NESCO — City areas of Rajshahi and Rangpur
Choosing the right distributor means your complaint gets to the right team without any delays.
Call the Hotline – Support Available 24/7
To make it easy to report each and every consumer, the government has launched a unified power complaint system. Customers can connect to their respective electricity distribution companies by dialling 16999. They should press 1 for BPDB, 2 for BREB, 3 for DESCO, 4 for DPDC, 5 for NESCO and 6 for WZPDCO.
All six major distribution companies, BPDB, BREB, DPDC, DESCO, NESCO and WZPDCL are connected with this centralised call centre. Any customer can call at any time and lodge a complaint, which is then passed directly to the team responsible for the resolution.
For areas served by BPDB, BPDB has a dedicated 24×7 call centre, the 16200 hotline, to serve consumers in the Southern Chittagong, Mymensingh, Comilla and Sylhet distribution zones.
DPDC customers in Dhaka have another choice: The DPDC hotline 16116 is open 24/7 and connects callers directly to a customer care representative.
Online Complaint Procedures
If you do not want to call, there are a number of digital reporting channels:
BPDB Central Complaint Centre: The Central Complaint and Consumer Service Centre is located at Biddyut Bhaban, Ground Floor, 1 Abdul Gani Road, Dhaka-1000. For any further assistance, please contact us at Tel: 02-47120224 / 02-47120225 or Mobile: 01708-149502 / 01708-149503.
DPDC Online Portal: DPDC has a Power Interruption Tracking system on its website where customers can enter their complaints, track the status of their complaints and monitor the interruption history entirely online.
Government Grievance Redressal System (GRS): Consumers can also file a formal public complaint on the Government’s GRS platform. In case the complaint is not settled at Level 1 within 30 days, it can be escalated further, ultimately to BERC, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission.
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Step-by-Step: What to Do When the Power Goes Out in the Rain
- Check with your neighbours to see if it’s a local problem or an outage in the area.
- Choose your electricity distribution company from the list above
- Have your Customer or Account Number handy to help speed up your complaint registration
- You can call 16999 ( universal helpline) or your company’s hotline
- If the call fails due to network problems, file your complaint using the online portal or GRS
- If no restoration update is received, follow up within 24-48 hours
Do not touch electrical cables that fall or are exposed during rain. Report them immediately to your local office or emergency services.
Context
Monsoon season power cuts are not merely a household inconvenience – they disrupt refrigeration, medical equipment, home-based businesses and study hours for students nationwide. The BPDB is of the opinion that better coordination and prior public information during outages will greatly reduce confusion and inconvenience for the consumers. Until that communication system matures, knowing the right hotlines and complaint channels is still the most practical tool every Bangladeshi consumer has for faster power restoration.
Summary
Heavy rain often triggers sudden power outages across Bangladesh. This guide explains how to report power cuts to BPDB and other distributors using hotlines 16999 & 16116, plus online complaint options for faster restoration.
