Power crisis deepens as gas, coal, and plants fail
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
The country’s gas and power situation has once again become vulnerable under triple pressures: tight LNG supply, coal scarcity, and consecutive mechanical failures at power plants.
Due to the gas supply deficit relative to demand, gas-based power generation has declined. At the same time, the Rampal and Patuakhali power plants due to coal shortage, and the Payra and Barapukuria plants due to mechanical faults, are unable to generate electricity at full capacity.
This has impacted power supply, increasing suffering for households and industries alike.
However, officials of the Power and Energy Division hope that the crisis will not be long-lasting. They expect that LNG supply will increase from the beginning of next week. Alongside this, the coal supply and the generation situation of the power plants will also improve.
LNG supply declines
According to Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation (Petrobangla), two LNG terminals have a maximum capacity to supply 1.1 billion cubic feet of gas daily. However, after the Excelerate-operated LNG terminal in Moheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar, was shut down on 21 July, the supply dropped below 500 million cubic feet.
Later, when the terminal was repaired and restarted, gas supply gradually began to increase. Towards the end of August, LNG supply exceeded 800 million cubic feet. But because several cargoes did not arrive on schedule, the supply began to decrease once again.
From the beginning of September, it dropped to between 710-720 million cubic feet. After remaining around 710 million cubic feet for a few days, Sunday’s supply dropped further to around 700 million cubic feet.
Domestic gas fields produce around 1.62 billion cubic feet. Adding LNG to this, the total supply stands at around 2.32 billion cubic feet. However, according to official estimates, the daily gas demand in the country is around 3.8 billion cubic feet. According to stakeholders, the actual demand is much higher - about 5.5 billion cubic feet.
LNG to increase next week
Petrobangla and Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL) said the complications regarding LNG supply have largely been resolved. According to their plan, starting 13-14 September, LNG supply will be increased to a daily average of 950 million to 1 billion cubic feet.
This will make it possible to supply about 250 million cubic feet more gas compared to the current level. Assurance has also been received for the delivery of seven LNG cargoes this month.
Petrobangla Director (Engineering) Md Shoeb confirmed the matter to Agamir Somoy.
Blow to power generation
Due to the gas crisis, coal-fired power plants are now the main reliance for increasing power generation. The total capacity of coal-fired power plants in the country is around 6,500 megawatts. The plan was to generate at least 6,000 megawatts of electricity from these plants.
Due to the coal shortage, the Rampal Power Plant, which has a capacity of 1,234 megawatts, is producing only 455 megawatts. Patuakhali Thermal Power Plant, with a capacity of 1,170 megawatts, is also producing about 150-200 megawatts less.
Patuakhali plant official said, “There is no major crisis in coal imports at the moment. However, the plant was started to meet power demand before an adequate stockpile of coal could be built up. As a result, if there is even a slight delay in coal arriving in the country for any reason, a crisis is created at the plant.”
He added, “After importing coal from abroad in large vessels, it must be transported to the power plant in smaller vessels. If the sea is rough, this transportation is also delayed. For this reason, a committee is working on a plan to stockpile 1-1.5 lakh tons of coal. If this reserve can be established, the plant can be run at full capacity.”
On the other hand, due to mechanical faults, production at the Payra Thermal Power Plant, which has a capacity of 1,163 megawatts, has also dropped to about 570 megawatts.
Payra plant official noted, “Both units are running. However, due to coal quality issues and mechanical faults, electricity cannot be generated at full capacity.
“Now, one unit must be kept shut down while maintenance is performed on the other unit. Later, work on the second unit will be carried out in the same manner. It may take about 20 days to complete maintenance on both units.”
Meanwhile, power generation at the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant has also been disrupted for a long time due to mechanical faults.
Adani power supply also declines
About 1,400 megawatts of electricity is supposed to be received from India’s Adani Power. However, an average of 1,000-1,100 megawatts of electricity is being received daily from the company.
Adani Power said coal transportation is being disrupted due to heavy rains and flooding in India and it is not possible to generate power according to demand. However, efforts are underway to produce at full capacity.
Gas-based power generation declines due to gas shortage
The total generation capacity of gas-based power plants in the country is 12,154 megawatts. To run these plants at full capacity, about 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas is required daily. However, due to the gas crisis, it has never been possible to supply that amount of gas.
During summer, around 1 billion cubic feet of gas was supplied to gas-based power plants. This made it possible to generate about 5,500 megawatts of electricity. With gas supply dropping to around 850 million cubic feet, gas-based power generation has also fallen below 5,000 megawatts.
Power Development Board (PDB) Member (Generation) Md Jahurul Islam added that the coal crisis at Rampal is expected to be resolved within this week. Adani company has highlighted their situation, explaining that they cannot provide electricity according to demand due to adverse weather and a coal transportation crisis on the railway. Power supply will increase once the weather improves.
Load shedding eases slightly as demand drops
Although generation has decreased, power demand has dropped recently due to a slight decrease in heat. Load shedding has also reduced slightly compared to before. On August, the peak demand for electricity exceeded 17,000 megawatts.
At that time, the average demand was 16,000-16,500 megawatts. In contrast, an average of nearly 3,000 megawatts of load shedding had to be carried out.
On 10 August, load shedding reached 3,757 megawatts at one point, which was one of the highest in living memory. On September, as power demand dropped to 14,000-15,000 megawatts, load shedding has slightly decreased. However, the crisis is not entirely over.
The peak electricity demand was 15,790 megawatts on Sunday. Against this, 13,668 megawatts were generated. As a result, the deficit at that time stood at 2,122 megawatts.
However, load shedding was relatively lower during the daytime. On Saturday, the peak demand for electricity was 16,806 megawatts. At that time, load shedding was 2,202 megawatts. On Friday, there was no load shedding from 4 pm to 6 pm and the average demand for electricity was slightly over 12,000 megawatts.
However, load shedding occurred again before and after this period. Around 1 am, load shedding exceeded 2,200 megawatts.
