Bangladesh to cut school and office hours as it battles power shortage

Bangladesh will close schools for one extra day a week and cut office timings by an hour to save power, a government official said on Monday, as the country battles a shortage after shutting down all of its diesel-run power plants.

The South Asian country last month shut down all 10 of its diesel power plants after Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove up the cost of imported fuel. Bangladesh began daily two-hour power cuts last month, but many parts of the country go without electricity for much longer.

The shut plants account for about 6% of Bangladesh's total power generation capacity of