Crisis after crisis, power shortage solution still far away
Photo: AI
Power generation has been disrupted by a severe gas shortage for more than one and a half months and a coal shortage for the past month. Recently, power generation at two coal fired power plants including Adani’s plant fell by half due to technical problems. At the same time, electricity demand has increased amid intense heat. However, the demand cannot be met due to multiple crises. As a result, people are remaining without electricity for hours at a time and daily life has been severely disrupted. Industrial production has also been affected due to power shortages. This has dealt a blow to business and trade and is having a negative impact on the country’s economy.
Load shedding reached nearly 3,000 megawatts even on Friday, a holiday. The figure exceeded 3,500 megawatts the previous day.
According to data from the Bangladesh Power Development Board, the Godda power plant of Adani Power in Jharkhand, India, had been unable to supply electricity according to demand for more than a month due to a coal shortage.
After coal supplies improved somewhat, generation at the plant rose to more than 1,400 megawatts on Wednesday evening. But the relief lasted only a few hours. At 11:00 PM, the plant’s second unit shut down while supplying around 1,430 megawatts. As a result, power supply fell below 750 megawatts.
Mohammad Zahurul Islam, member for generation at the BPDB, said Adani had reported a technical problem with the boiler feed pump at one of its units. The unit had to be shut down because the pump overheated, Adani said.
Officials said the unit must first be allowed to cool down before repair work can begin. This will take at least 48 hours. Overall, it will take several days to complete the repair work.
The country’s current power generation capacity is around 29,000 megawatts. Generation stood at around 13,000 to 13,500 megawatts on Friday. Gas fired power plants have a generation capacity of more than 12,500 megawatts. However, they generated less than 5,000 megawatts on Friday.
Meanwhile, the situation is also unfavorable at the coal fired power plants that are expected to play a role as an alternative to gas. The country’s seven coal fired plants have a combined capacity of 6,133 megawatts. In reality, they are generating an average of around 4,500 megawatts. Due to the coal shortage, the RNPL power plant in Patuakhali is generating 700 megawatts instead of its capacity of 1,244 megawatts.
Generation at the 1,244-megawatt Payra Thermal Power Plant has also fallen by nearly half due to a technical problem. Officials at the plant said it will take another two weeks to complete repairs.
The two units at Barapukuria are also facing technical problems. Generation at Rampal was recently disrupted due to a shortage of coal supplies. However, it has recovered somewhat and is now generating around 1,100 megawatts of electricity.
The government is taking various measures to address the crisis. To tackle the dual gas and coal shortages, the government is now turning to the most expensive alternative, furnace oil.
For September, the BPDB sought 200,000 tonnes of furnace oil to generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity daily. In contrast, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation has taken steps to supply only 136,000 tonnes. This means a gap remains between demand and supply.
The Finance Division has allocated Tk 6,000 crore to the BPDB to purchase the oil. Of this amount, Tk 4,699 crore has already been disbursed. Among private power producers, Summit Group received the highest amount at Tk 533 crore, followed by United Power with Tk 433 crore. However, having the funds does not mean the oil will be readily available. Several companies have already opened letters of credit to import the oil, but it will take another 10 to 15 days for those shipments to reach the country.
The alternative fuel is also no longer cheap. Furnace oil cost Tk 71 per liter last year. The price is now around Tk 100. As a result, power generation costs are rising, increasing the BPDB’s losses and putting greater pressure on government subsidies. Oil fired power plants generated 1,000 to 1,500 megawatts of electricity on Friday.
Meanwhile, the impact of the fuel crisis is being felt directly in people’s daily lives. In many homes, gas pressure has fallen so low that cooking stoves are not working. One- to two-kilometer-long lines of vehicles are forming at CNG filling stations. Many auto rickshaws are unable to take to the roads after waiting for hours without getting gas. In some places, the long lines are causing traffic congestion. Passengers are also complaining about excessive fares.
Frequent power outages amid intense heat have severely disrupted normal life. Fans and air conditioners remain off. Water pumps cannot be operated. Mobile and internet services are also being disrupted. Hospitals and emergency services are managing with backup generators, but this is increasing operating costs. Children, elderly people and sick people are facing the most difficult situation. Staying at home has become difficult and going outside also means facing transportation and fuel shortages.
The impact of the crisis is also clear in the industrial sector. Production has declined in the readymade garment and textile sectors, ceramics, steel and rod industries and small and medium enterprises. Yarn production and dyeing processes at textile mills are being disrupted. Low gas pressure is making it difficult for ceramic factories to operate kilns. Many companies are being forced to rely on diesel and furnace oil powered generators. This is increasing production costs and creating the risk of losing purchase orders.
Meanwhile, the government has come under criticism over the country’s electricity and gas problems from the outset. At a briefing on Friday, Chief Whip of the National Parliament Nurul Islam Moni said, "It is not possible to increase power generation quickly just by wanting to. Because it takes two to two and a half years to build a new power plant."
