-$254m spent on construction of this power plant
- Total capacity of coal-powered power now 7,312 MW
- RNPL requires about 12K tons coal per day to run
The country's coal-fired power plants are suffering from energy crisis. These power plants are unable to provide enough gas or coal to continue production. Among these, another power plant with a capacity of 1,320 megawatts is going to be added to the power generation capacity of the country. The ultra-super critical technology coal-fired power plant set up at Kalapara in Patuakhali is now awaiting the approval of the Power Department and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to start production. The power plant is scheduled to be connected to the national grid in December.
If it goes into production, the total capacity of coal-based power plants installed in the country will stand at 7,312 MW. The power plant is jointly constructed by RPCL-Norinco International Power Limited (RNPL). Meanwhile, the power plant has stockpiled 128,000 tons of coal for commissioning and production. The company is going to invite tenders for long-term coal supply in a day or two.
According to RNPL data, the power plant will be connected to the grid in December but its first unit (660 MW) will go into production in March next year. RNPL wants to supply electricity at full capacity from here by next June. However, officials related to the project said that they are ready to go into production anytime if BPDB or power department wants and gets backfeed power connection. The power plant has become productive at a time when there is not enough fuel to run the country's ultra-super critical technology power plants. Due to the shortage of gas, the production of three large capacity (about two thousand MW) power plants in Meghnaghat of Narayanganj has stopped. At the same time, BPDB owes a huge amount of bills to the centers for purchasing electricity. As a result, BPDB's bill payment costs will increase when the power supply to the new RNPL center starts. If it cannot be put into production again, the company will have to pay a lot of money as rent for its large capacity.
Other large coal-fired power plants are now unable to produce as per demand due to lack of fuel. Matarbari 1 thousand 200 MW thermal power plant is closed due to energy crisis. It is said to be unlikely to launch before December. On the other hand, the power plant of 307 MW Barisal Electric Power is also closed. One of the two units of the 1,320 MW Rampal Thermal Power Station is operational. A unit of private power plant SS Power is closed. Besides, power supply from one unit of Adani from India is also stopped. Among them, one unit of Payra 1,320 MW power plant will go for maintenance from November 7 as it is producing electricity at full capacity. It will remain closed for about two months, BCPCL sources said.
Experts say that the country's coal-based power plants continue to suffer from production crisis because no specific and long-term plan has been made regarding the import of fuel or the provision of necessary funds for this. Due to lack of planning and excessive dependence on imports in the energy sector, these large capacity power plants are not running now.
Energy expert Professor M Tamim said, "Ultra-super critical technology power plants were approved mainly from the plan to reduce the cost of electricity production. But due to the lack of long-term and consistent plans for the import of energy for these power plants, a crisis has arisen. They need a precise plan on how to execute them. To make it economically profitable, these power plants cannot be kept.
The current capacity of coal based power plants in the country is 5 thousand 992 MW. If the capacity of RPCL-Norinco power plants is added, the total capacity of power plants installed in the country stands at 7 thousand 312 MW. The power plant of RPCL-Norinco has been constructed in Dhankhali union of Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali. 50 percent ownership of this center built by joint investment belongs to the state-owned Rural Power Company Limited. The remaining 50 percent is owned by the Chinese company Norinco International Cooperation Limited. 254 million dollars have been spent on the construction of this power plant. According to RPCL data, the physical progress of the project has crossed 90 percent till October. Financial progress has been 79 percent. According to RNPL sources, the company sought shutdown of Payra-Gopalganj 400 KV double circuit line from November 1 to 8 to connect the power plant to the national grid. But the transmission line is now engaged in the transmission of electricity to Patuakhali's Payra Power Station (1,320 MW). In this situation, there is no opportunity to close it and connect the power plant of RNPL to the grid, said BPDB. The statement of the organization in this regard is that there is a risk of large-scale load shedding across the country if Pyara's electricity is stopped.
On condition of anonymity, a senior official of the power department said, "A meeting was held on November 4 under the chairmanship of the secretary of the power department regarding the commissioning of the RPCL-Norinco power plant. The concerned officials of RNPL, BPDB and PGCB were present there. RPCL-NORINCO wanted to start the power plant from November 1 subject to receipt of backfeed power. But the electricity department and BPDB do not want to give them backfeed power now due to the fear of increased demand and load shedding. As a result, this deadline has been pushed back to mid-December.
RNPL will require about 12,000 tons of coal per day to run the power plant. The company has already imported fuel for this power plant in three phases. However, the plant's production has been delayed by at least four months as Pyara's electricity transmission could not be stopped.
In this regard, the Managing Director (MD) of RPCL-Norinco International Power Limited, Engineer Salim Bhuiyan said, "One unit of the power plant is ready. Backfeed power is now required to operate the center. Although it was supposed to happen earlier this month, it is not happening now. Backfeed power will be given to the power plant in the middle of next month. Then the first unit will be commissioned in mid-March. It is planned to start the power plant at full capacity in June 2025.
ZH
