Power generation at Rampal power plant halted due to mechanical failure

Rampal thermal power plant's power generation has been halted due to a mechanical failure.

The power generation was halted from Saturday, confirmed Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Ltd (BIFPCL) Deputy General Manager Anwarul Azim on Monday (17 April).

He hoped the production will resume soon. Besides, claiming there is no coal crisis he further said that the power plant has adequate coal reserves.

Some coal has already been bought and is on its way to reach the power plant via the sea.

Meanwhile, the sudden shutdown of Rampal thermal power plant has affected the power supply. Load shedding has increased in the region including in Bagerhat.

Earlier, the thermal power plant was closed from 14 January for a month due to a coal shortage.

In 2013, the Bangladesh Power Development Board signed an agreement with its Indian counterpart to establish the much-talked-about coal-fired power plant with an aim to produce cost-effective electricity. According to the initial estimates, the cost of electricity production for this plant will be around Tk7.5 per unit.

"The cost of production now hovers between Tk13 and 14 per unit," Subhash Chandra Pandey said, blaming the higher prices of imported coal behind the hike in production cost. 

"If coal prices fall in the global market, the cost of electricity production at the plant will go down," he added. 

The estimated cost for the implementation of the Rampal Power Plant project is $2 billion. Some 83% of the project has so far been implemented, according to official documents. The physical progress of the project was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. The authorities concerned, however, are hopeful that the implementation cost will not cross the estimates.