electricity
Power, energy sectors are saddled with $5 billion outstanding payment amid dollar crisis: Sources
The power and energy sectors of Bangladesh have been hit by severe cash crunch, especially the US dollars, piling up a huge backlog in payment of their import bills, official sources said this week.
According to official sources, the sectors’ cumulative outstanding bills have now jumped to about $5 billion of which the backlog amount in the power sector is about $4 billion (about Tk 43,093 crore), and the remaining 1 billion is in the energy sector.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid also admitted the severity of the crisis.
“Actually the crisis is not of local currency. Somehow we can manage it. But the main crisis is of dollar. We’re not getting dollar from Bangladesh Bank as per our needs,” he told UNB this week.
He noted that the power and energy sectors need at least $1 billion a month to meet payment obligations.
"But we’re just getting less than half of that,” he said, adding, “As a result, cumulative outstanding is rising every month”.
Read: JICA to assist govt in preparing power distribution plan for Dhaka
Sources said that the two main state-owned organisations' energy sector – Petrobangla and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporations have to spend huge amounts to import primary fuels like crude and refined petroleum and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from abroad.
Petrobangla also needs to pay foreign gas companies like Chevron to purchase natural gas to meet the local demands. All are paid in foreign currencies.
Similarly, the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has to purchase electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) in dollars.
In addition, it has to import 2500 MW of electricity from India of which 1500 MW is coming from Adani power plant.
Sources familiar with the situation said that under the existing arrangement, the BPDB pays some large IPPs like SS Power, Payra, Rampal and Adani in foreign currency while the other IPPs are paid in local currency but they are allowed to convert the payment in foreign currency as deals’ obligation.
Read: Govt approves import of 40 MW power from Nepal
“Each day we need at least 40 million US dollars from Bangladesh Bank to meet our payment obligation. But we’re getting 5-7 million dollars a day”, a top official of the BPDB told UNB, wishing anonymity as he is not authorised to talk to media.
Officials at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division said the Petrobangla and BPC also need huge foreign currency, particularly the US dollar to continue its petroleum and gas imports and also to buy gas from foreign gas companies.
According to BPC’s Annual Report, the total import of petroleum products was about 6.86 million metric tons and the total expenses of import was US$ 6 billion (equivalent to Tk 62,132.61 crore) in fiscal 2022-23.
For the financial year 2023-24, the BPC planned to import more petroleum products than the previous fiscal, officials said.
Petrobangla has also to import over 5 million metric tons from Qatar Gas, Oman Trading, and the Spot market spending US$ 4.5 billion. It has also to pay US giant Chevron to buy gas from its three gas fields where unpaid bills now stand at $300 million due to backlog in payment.
Nasrul Hamid said his ministry has regularly been negotiating with the Bangladesh Bank to get more dollar supply.
“But the central bank only advises increasing the price of electricity, gas and petroleum which is not frequently possible for a political government”, he said.
He also informed that his ministry was planning to receive a loan from Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to ease the situation.
“But the central bank is not supporting the idea”, he added.
END/UNB/SH/F
Read more: Still 7.64 percent consumers have to bribe in getting electricity connections: Survey
Costly rental power plants keep getting extensions, even in the era of surplus capacity
Despite demand being nearly half of electricity generation capacity, the government of Bangladesh continues to extend the tenure of costly rental power plants.
The latest decision for extension of contract for a gas-based rental power plant was made in the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on November 8.
As per the decision, a 55 MW gas-based rental power plant of Precision Energy Ltd. will get an extension of 5 years to their existing contract with the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
Under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the BPDB will buy electricity from the plant at a tariff rate of US Cent 5.7 (equivalent to about Tk 6) per kilowatt hour while it has been buying electricity from base-load plants at around half the price.
Read: Despite surplus electricity, contracts of 10 rental power plants extended in four months
For instance, the government has been purchasing electricity from Summit-GE's Bibiyana 450 MW gas-fired power project at US 3.32 cents per kilowatt-hour, with a contract for a period of 22 years.
The government approved a PPA in October 2021 under which Consortium of (1) Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd, Malaysia and (2) Winnievision Power Ltd, Bangladesh, will set up the 660 MW base-load combined cycle plant and the BPDB will purchase electricity from the plant over a contract period of 22 years at a levelised power tariff of US 3.679 Cents (equivalent to Tk 2.94) per kilowatt hour to be run by local gas.
The move for continuing the extension of rental and quick rental power plants' contracts raised the eyebrows of the energy experts.
Many experts and power industry insiders believe that such a move to continue entertaining the costly rental power plants will increase the burden on the government for more subsidies, at a time when the sector has already been facing huge capacity payments' obligation with surplus capacity of electricity generation reaching about 50 percent.
Read: Power flow set up from Payra plant to Rampal sub-station
Last year, the government extended the contracts of at least 10 rental power plants with a new provision of “No Electricity, No Payment” but kept a fund allocation of Tk 6,564.08 crore to pay the owners of the rental power plants.
This time also Tk 1205.40 crore was kept as allocation while approving the latest extension proposal of Precision Energy's 55 MW Ashuganj gas-fired rental power plant which will be paid in in next 5 years.
According to the Power Division’s official statistics, as of September 13, 2023, the country's power generation capacity was 27,834 MW including off-grid renewable and captive power, while the highest generated in a day was 15,648 MW.
The BPDB official data shows the country generated 14,021 MW on September 26, while covering the excess demand by resorting to load shedding of 113 MW.
Read: 5 rental power plants with 457 MW get 2-year extension
The demand was decreasing with the coming winter and the country's power demand was recorded to be 10,954 MW on November 8 while on-grid installed capacity was showing 25,339 MW meaning that the surplus capacity was more than double at 14,385 MW.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, however, defended the extension of the rental power plants’ contracts saying that the deals were extended for “emergency necessity” to tackle the current situation when last year 10 rental power plants' contracts were extended.
“As there is a gas shortage, we have to run liquid-fuel based rental and quick rental power plants on full capacity to meet the demands," he had told UNB.
He also said these plants don’t oblige the government to make 'capacity payment' - i.e. payment for unused electricity, that was the case with some earlier contracts. “As a result, the cost of electricity from these extended rental power plants came down by 30-40 percent from the original cost," Nasrul Hamid said.
The government documents show that of the approved 5 plants in March last year, three belong to Summit Group, one belongs to Dutch-Bangla Group and one to Orion Group.
'Admit the mistake first'
About the country's growing surplus electricity and extension of rental power plants, vice president of Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Prof M Shamsul Alam said: “There will be a big indiscipline in the power sector as pressure for private sector’s capacity payment will continue to go up while import of primary fuel will be increasing. Finally, it will lead to energy insecurity."
Read: Deal period with rental, quick rental power plant owners can’t be extended: BPDB Chairman
In such a situation, he said, the only way-out is that the government has to admit first it has done a mistake by giving permission to the private sector for excessive power generation without consideration of the demand and then change the current policy and strategy.
Otherwise, the situation will be more difficult to manage as pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is coming to raise electricity tariff again. If so, it will further push up inflation, he added.
Installation of underground cables completed in Hatirjheel area
The work to install underground cables has been completed in Hatirjheel area, although subsequent road repairs necessitated by the project are progressing slowly.
According to official sources, both the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) and Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC) completed their work in September and deposited their required money to the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) to repair the roads as per rule.
Sources said that recently a Rajuk-appointed contractor has started the road repair works but it’s going on at a very slow pace.
The DPDC and PGCB have laid the high voltage underground cables through digging the roads in the area to replace their overhead cables at the Hatirjheel lake.
The DPDC first completed its part of the work in June, and then the PGCB’s work was completed in September, said the sources in the PGCB. PGCB officials said after completion of the works, the Rajuk will repair the roads as the area is under its jurisdiction.
Underground power cabling works at Hatirjheel: Commuters’ ordeal unlikely to end soon
Growing backlog in payments to independent producers a bottleneck in power sector
The growing backlog in payment obligation is emerging as a major problem in Bangladesh's power sector that may impede the growth of the sector.
According to official sources, the payment mode in Bangladesh Government's power purchase agreement (PPA) with the private sector has mainly been made in foreign currency, specially, the US dollar.
As per the existing arrangement, as a single payer the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) pays to the private power producers in local currency against its purchase of electricity.
Under the PPA, the private power producers are allowed to convert the payments into US dollars to meet their different kinds of payment obligations like bank loan, fuel and machinery imports and also paying foreign staff salaries.
If the investors are foreign companies, they can repatriate their profits in US dollars, said the officials of the BPDB.
They also noted that the BPDB always remains in constant contact with power producers, their banks and the central bank to smooth the foreign currency repatriation.
But following the dollar crisis in the country, official sources said in recent months, both the BPDB and the private power producers have been experiencing severe problems in getting dollars from their banks and also from the Bangladesh Bank.
Official sources said the BPDB has been struggling to keep up with its payments owed to the private power producers for more than a year.
Officials at the Power Division and BPDB said currently the total owed to the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) is $3.5 billion (equivalent to over Tk 35,000 crore) as of September 2023.
Read: Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant to receive fresh batch of uranium from Russia’s Rosatom at ‘Graduation Ceremony’ tomorrow
As per contract with the government, the IPPs are facing dual problems with their bills. First, they are not getting bills on time and secondly, they are getting partial bills, but not being able to convert the payment into foreign exchange due to the dollar crisis.
A top BPDB official admitted the problem to UNB, saying that they had reached an understanding with Bangladesh Bank under a mediation of the Finance Ministry that the central bank will provide on average $20 million every day to BPDB to cover its costs.
“But we’re not getting more than $10-15 million a day,” a top BPDB official told UNB on condition of anonymity as the issue is very sensitive and he is not allowed to speak on the issue.
He also said that if measures are not taken to contain the growing dues in the power sector it will further aggravate the problem.
Read: Japan provides $1500 million to implement Matarbari coal-fired power plant
Admitting about the payment backlog, Imran Karim, former president of Bangladesh Independent power Producers Association (BIPPA), said the government should take necessary measures to clear the dues in the power sector.
"Otherwise, it will accumulate the dues and create a major problem in the sector", he told UNB.
Energy experts said the country is heading for problems in the power sector and it would have a big impact on the overall economy pushing up inflation further.
Eminent energy expert and advisor to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Prof M Shamsul Alam said the government has been put in such a major problem because of its wrong planning in the power sector.
He said that as a result of the wrong planning, the country is witnessing 50 percent surplus power in summer and 70 percent in winter, for which it is heading towards a disastrous situation.
“There will be a big indiscipline in the power sector as pressure for private sector’s capacity payment will continue to go up while import of primary fuel will be increasing. Finally, it will lead to energy insecurity,” he told UNB.
Read more: Cabinet purchase body approves proposals including 3 solar power plants in private sector
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant to receive fresh batch of uranium from Russia’s Rosatom at ‘Graduation Ceremony’ tomorrow
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) is going to officially receive a fresh batch of uranium from the Russian contractor, Rosatom, at a formal “Graduation Ceremony” on Thursday (tomorrow, October 05, 2023).
According to official sources, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin are expected to virtually join the historic ceremony to mark the occasion.
Sources said Director General of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev, will hand over the fuel officially to the project authority in Rooppur project.
Science and Technology Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman will preside over the function while Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will join the ceremony through video conference.
Md. Ali Hossain, Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, said that all arrangements are ready for making the Graduation Ceremony a success.
“We have made all necessary arrangements to mark the historic moment,” he told UNB.
Earlier, the first batch of uranium, the nuclear fuel of the first unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, arrived in Bangladesh on September 28.
The consignment of uranium arrived in Dhaka from Russia through a special air cargo and it was moved to the nuclear power plant site by road under heavy security the next day.
The nuclear fuel was brought to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka by a special plane from a factory in Russia.
Read: First batch of uranium for RNPP reaches Rooppur amid tight security
The fuel was produced at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) in Russia, a subsidiary of Rosatom's fuel manufacturing company Tevel.
Rosatom, as a Russian contractor, has been engaged in building the 2400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant with two units, each with the capacity of producing 1200 MW electricity.
The nuclear reactor of the first unit of the power plant was loaded in October 2021 while reactor for second unit was installed in October 2022.
The government conceived the idea of setting up the RNPP project in 2009 and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Russian Federation on May 13 in 2009 on the “Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.”
On January 15, 2013, an agreement regarding State Export Credit of US$ 500 million was signed for carrying out preparatory phase construction works of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
The government signed a US$12.65 billion general contract (GC) in 2015 with the Russian Federation for building the nuclear power plant in Rooppur.
Bangladesh signed a credit agreement with Russia to obtain $11.385 billion Russian credit for RNPP in July 2016. The credit covers 90 percent of the project cost.
Read: Support truss installed at Unit-2 reactor building of Rooppur RNPP
The Ministry of Science and Technology recently said that the first unit of the plant may come into operation in July 2024 and the second unit in July 2025.
However, Project Director of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project Dr. M Shawkat Akbar said that the government is expecting to commission the first unit of the RNPP in September next year and second unit in mid of 2025.
Though the 1200 MW first unit of the nuclear power plant at Rooppur is expected to start production from next year, the Power Division and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) are still in dark about the possible tariff of the electricity of the plant.
According to sources at the Power Division, the officials of the BPDP sat in a number of meetings with the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) to discuss a possible power tariff of the plant, but they failed to get a clear picture in this regard.
The BAEC has been implementing the RNPP project and the BPDB will purchase electricity from the Russian-aided plant under a long-term agreement.
A top official of the BPDB, however, said that they have made a primary calculation on the basis of the data derived from the discussions with BAEC and reports in the newspaper and tariff of per unit electricity of the RNPP will be not less than Tk 10.
According to some local experts' calculation the power tariff of the RNPP project will cross $0.08 -0.10 (8-10 US cents).
Read more: Key stage completed in manufacture of RNPP’s first reactor pressure vessel
One of the country's eminent power tariff experts, Mizanur Rahman, former Member of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), said the electricity tariff from the nuclear power project will be more than over $0.085 (8.5 Cents).
Country may witness 70% surplus in electricity generation capacity this winter
More than two-thirds of the total power generation capacity will remain idle this coming winter, as more power is added to the national grid from the private sector pushing up the capacity payment obligation of the government of Bangladesh.
It comes at a time when already the government’s outstanding bills to the private sector power producers has ballooned out to $3.5 billion.
According to the Power Division’s official statistics, as of September 13, 2023, the country's power generation capacity was 27,834 MW including off-grid renewable and captive power, while the highest generated in a day was 15,648 MW.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) official data shows the country generated 14,021 MW on September 26, while covering the excess demand by resorting to load shedding of 113 MW.
It means half the power generation capacity remains utilised, while load shedding is also unavoidable.
Read: Japan provides $1500 million to implement Matarbari coal-fired power plant
According to power industry insiders, the surplus power situation will be getting worse in the coming winter with more electricity coming to the national grid from the private sector power plants in the next few months and installed generation capacity may cross 30,000 MW, increasing the surplus electricity to about 70 percent as demand usually dips during the season.
The expected boost to capacity includes 1,224 MW from S Alam Group’s power plant in Bashkhali of Chattagram (of which first unit of 620 MW already came to the grid), 718 MW electricity from Reliance Power LNG-based Plant in Meghnaghat, 590 MW from LNG-based GE-Summit Meghnaghat-2 power plant and 584 MW from LNG-based Unique Group’s power plant in Meghnaghat.
The sponsors of these plants are working hard to persuade the government to allow them to officially commission their plants as all of them are ready for operation. But due to shortage of gas they are not allowed to start operation.
Read: First shipment of uranium for Rooppur nuclear power plant arrives in country
In the meantime, more electricity from some of the recently completed power plants already came to the grid, including the second unit of the Adani Group’s 1,600 MW coal-fired power plant, and 620 MW from the second unit of Rampal Power Plant.
Last winter, the power generation came down to below 10,000 MW with the decreasing demand.
BPDB record shows the generation was recorded at 9,134 MW on December 31 in 2022. Experts believe the generation will remain below 10,000 MW in the coming winter as demand is not increasing at a faster pace.
Though 70 percent electricity will remain idle, the sponsors will get their payments in the form of capacity charges as per their contract with the government, said the BPDB officials.
Read: Climate change and the shift to cleaner energy push Southeast Asia to finally start sharing power
The government is already struggling to keep up with its payments owed to the private power producers.
Officials at the Power Division and BPDB said currently the total owed to the Independent Power Producers (IPPS) is $3.5 billion (equivalent to over Tk 35,000 crore) as of September 2023.
As per contract with the government, the IPPs are facing dual problems with their bills. First, they are not getting bills on time and secondly, they are getting partial bills, but not being able to convert the payment into foreign exchange due to the dollar crisis.
A top BPDB official admitted the problem to UNB, saying that they had reached an understanding with Bangladesh Bank under a mediation of the Finance Ministry that the central bank will provide on average $20 million every day to BPDB to cover its costs.
Read: Power Cell engages top US consultancy in move towards ‘Smart Grid’
“But we’re not getting more than $10-15 million a day,” a top BPDB official told UNB on condition of anonymity as the issue is very sensitive and he is not allowed to speak on the issue.
Energy experts said the country is heading for problems in the power sector and it would have a big impact on the overall economy pushing up inflation further.
Eminent energy expert and advisor to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Prof M Shamsul Alam said that with the 50 percent surplus power in summer and 70 percent in winter, the country will be heading towards a disastrous situation.
Read: S Alam Group’s 1320 MW Banshkhali coal-fired power plant starts commercial operation
“There will be a big indiscipline in the power sector as pressure for private sector’s capacity payment will continue to go up while import of primary fuel will be increasing. Finally, it will lead to energy insecurity,” he told UNB.
In such a situation, he said, the only way-out is that the government has to admit first it has done a mistake by giving permission to the private sector for excessive power generation without consideration of the demand and then change the current policy and strategy.
Otherwise, the situation will be more difficult to manage as pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is coming to raise electricity tariff again. If so, it will further push up inflation, he added.
PM Hasina to inaugurate Matarbari coal-fired plant in December to add 600MW to national grid: Officials
The first unit of Matarbari coal-fired power plant in Maheshkhali of Cox's Bazar district is likely to go into production by this December, adding 600 MW of electricity to the national grid.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the plant, project officials told reporters this week.
A ship carrying 64,300 mts of coal for the Matarbari plant had arrived from Indonesia on June 23.
The 1200 MW power plant has been built on 1,414 acres of land in Matarbari and Dhalghata unions of Maheshkhali upazila of Cox's Bazar district.
Fire in garbage dump at Matarbari Thermal Power Project under control after 8 hours
Along with the construction of this power plant with Japanese funding on the coast of Cox's Bazar seven years ago, work has also started on the construction of port infrastructure and jetty for coal offloading from ships.
While visiting the area recently, it was seen that the project implementing company, Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCL), is going ahead with the work of this mega project.
The work of the jetty for the coal discharge with the power plant is almost finished. Vessels have also started sailing at the jetty.
PM urges JICA to allow farmers to use wastage of sea water in the desalination project at Matarbari
The project has changed the entire landscape of the area, said officials.
Some 13,104 tons of coal will be required daily to generate electricity at full scale. Coal discharge jetties and silos have been constructed for this.
Coal required for 60 days has been kept in the huge silos. Up to 80,000 ton capacity mother vessels can directly enter the coal jetty. And it will take one and a half to two days to unload the coal from the mother vessel.
Two separate ashponds are kept to store ash for a lifetime of 25 years of the power plant. One has an area of 90 acres, another spread over 600 acres. Coal yard has been prepared on 80 acres of land for coal storage.
64,300 mts of coal for Matarbari coal-fired power plant arrives
A loan agreement on the project was signed between the Government of Bangladesh and JICA on June 16, 2014. The project cost has been estimated at Tk 51,800 crores.
Of this, Tk 43,921 crore will be given as project support by JICA and the remaining Tk 7,933 crore will be provided from the own funds of Bangladesh Government and CPGCBL.
According to project sources, 95 percent of the jetty and physical infrastructure work has already been completed and 90 percent of the overall physical infrastructure work has been done.
Executive Director Nazmul Huq, Matarbari coal-fired plant project said that PM Hasina will inaugurate the power plant in December.
Read more: People suffer as severe load shedding continues countrywide
“But we want to add 600 MW power from here before inauguration and that will happen. The first unit of the Matarbari coal-fired power plant is scheduled to be commissioned in January 2024, but we expect to be fully operational by this December,” he said.
He mentioned that the second unit will be commissioned in next July.
However, he said, electricity from both the units will be connected to the national grid.
The executive director mentioned that the project is being worked on by ensuring all necessary measures to prevent environmental pollution.
“The coal will be seen only once when the coal is unloaded from the ship. Then the coal will go directly from the jetty to the plant. It will not pollute the environment," he said.
Read more: 26,620 mts of coal for Rampal Power plant arrives at Mongla
Highlighting the overall status of the project, the executive director said, we have two parts of this project, one of which is the power plant, the other is the port.
Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Shaheen Imran told reporters that the Matarbari Coal Power Project is a priority project of the prime minister.
People suffer as severe load shedding continues countrywide
Severe load shedding continued across the country amid the sweltering heat.
As a result of power generation between 12,000 MW and 13,000 MW against the demand of nearly 16,000 MW, the people in capital Dhaka and elsewhere have been experiencing frequent power cuts that makes their lives unbearable in this peak summer when temperatures are soaring to 38-42 degree Celsius.
Also Read: Coal shortage forces Payra Power Plant to shut down operation
In the daytime power cuts already crossed 2,600 MW and it is apprehended that the outage may go up to 3,500 MW in the evening peak.
It is alleged that power supply situation is worse in the rural areas as they get electricity for 3-5 hours a day while the rest of the time they have to remain without electricity.
Also Read: Load shedding increases again with fall in power generation
Interestingly, the official data of the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) shows that the extent of load shedding reaches the highest peak at midnights when people remain in deep sleep.
The data also shows the country experienced 2610 MW while the demand for electricity was 14,900 MW and the generation output was 12,166 MW at 12 noon on Tuesday.
The power generation forecast at the evening peak was projected to be 14,900 MW against a projected demand of 15,800 MW when load shedding was planned for only 900 MW.
“But the reality is totally different”, said a top official at state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board.
At the evening peak the extent of load shedding reaches 2700 MW to 3500 MW, he noted, saying the official data always does not reflect the ground reality.
Also Read: Power supply situation will improve in two weeks: Nasrul Hamid
However, the official data of PGCB, responsible for power transmission across the country, shows that the load shedding was 2815 MW at 4 pm, 2735 at 6 pm on Monday, 3266 MW at 1 am Tuesday.
The load shedding was 3215 MW at 1 am (midnight) and 3143 MW at 2 pm (midnight) on Tuesday.
Also Read: Frequent power cuts amid heat wave multiplies people’s woes
This means the extent of highest load shedding at midnight is a new phenomenon as though the country’s demand decreases at midnight, the power generation also decreases to a level of 11,000 MW.
Normally, no load shedding was seen in the midnights in the previous years. This year, load shedding at midnights has become regular.
No official from the BPDB was found to be willing to comment on the issue.
Imagine if electricity generation capacity were still 3000 MW like in BNP-Jamaat govt period: Nasrul Hamid
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has shared an explanation on why load shedding has become more acute and frequent in Bangladesh as people struggle with the ongoing sweltering heat.
“People of Bangladesh are suffering during this scorching heat. Use of air conditioners and fans is increasing, and people are using these devices for comfort,” the state minister wrote in a post on his verified Facebook profile.
Read more: BTMA seeks smooth gas-electricity supply and loan moratorium to survive
On June 3, Bangladesh generated 13,635 MW of electricity, yet there was load shedding, he noted.
Imagine what would have happened in the country today if 3000 MW of electricity were being produced as was the case during the last BNP-Jamaat government, he wrote.
“The Awami League government has provided electricity to all the villages and cities in the country. This is a people's government, so the government wants to deal with this crisis with the cooperation of everyone,” Nasrul Hamid wrote in the post.
Read more: 1500 MW of electricity from solar systems can be generated in next 1 year: Speakers
He urged everyone to save electricity from their individual position.
Coal shortage forces Payra Power Plant to shut down operation
Payra Thermal Power Plant’s operations came to a complete halt at 12:05 pm today, with its second unit shutting down due to coal crisis.
The shutdown of the power plant worsened an already severe load shedding situation in Dhaka city and elsewhere, according to BPDB officials.
Earier, the other 660 MW unit of the power plant was closed on May 25.
BPDB officials said due to the shutdown of the second unit of Payra power plant, the country’s load shedding has increased to 2675 MW at 12 pm today, which was 2287 MW on Sunday.
It means the country had to experience 388 MW of added load shedding due to the closure of Payra power plant's operations, said an official of BPDB referring to the data of the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC).
He said the country generated 12099 MW of electricity against a demand of 14900 at 12 pm today.
NLDC’s evening forecast shows that the country’s demand will go up to 15800 MW when generation is expected to be 14,400 MW.
Also Read: Coal shortage: Production at another unit of Payra power plant may suspend after June 2
However, officials said the country may experience more than 3500 MW of load shedding in the evening peak period
The 1,320 MW coal-fired power plant is expected to resume operations on July 1 as the process of importing coal has already started through the opening of LC, said Shah Abdul Hasib, superintendent engineer (operation) at the plant.
He said the shipment will arrive by June 25.
“After the shipment of coal arrives, we will be able to resume the plant’s operation by July 1,” he said.
He said opening LC takes some time due to the current global situation and dollar crisis.
Payra power plant needs to import 3 lakh metric tonnes of coal every month to operate the plant in full capacity.
Also Read: Operation of 1,320 MW coal-fired Payra power plant is likely to face closure over coal crisis
The power plant has to spend about US$ 5-6 million every month to import the required coal.
Payra power plant officials said the power plant is burning some 13,000 tonnes of coal a day. It has a 76.30-acre dumping zone where 25 years’ worth of by-products can be kept.
The plant is currently importing coal from Indonesia. It has its own jetty, whose conveyor belts can unload 3,200 tonnes of coal every hour from four vessels at a time.
After undergoing test runs for about five months, the first unit of the Payra power plant started commercial operation in May 2020. In October 2020, the second unit of the 660 MW plant, a joint venture of Bangladesh and China, started its commercial operation.