Rampal power plant unit shuts down, generation falls by half

A unit of the Rampal coal-fired power plant in Bagerhat shut down due to a technical fault today (13 September), cutting the plant's power generation by roughly half, even as Adani Power's Godda plant resumed supply from its previously offline unit.

The second unit of the 1,320MW Rampal power plant stopped operating around 11am.

Confirming the matter to The Business Standard, the power plant's General Manage (Human Resources) Anwarul Azim said, "The second unit had been completely shut down due to a technical fault. It will take at least four days to resume operations."

"The work was underway to restore the unit, while the first unit remained operational and continued supplying electricity to the national grid," he added.

The official, however, could not specify the nature of the technical fault.

According to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) sources, before the shutdown, the plant was generating more than 1,100MW. Its output subsequently fell to below 600MW.

Meanwhile, Adani Power's second unit resumed electricity supply to Bangladesh's national grid at around noon after being shut down due to a technical problem late Thursday night (10 September).

The combined supply from Adani's two units crossed 1,046MW around 2pm, compared with a maximum of around 758MW earlier in the day. The supply could rise further in the afternoon, according to BPDB and PGCB sources.

Adani Power's Godda plant in Jharkhand, India, has an installed capacity of 1,600MW across two 800MW units. The BPDB signed a power purchase agreement with Adani in 2017.

The plant has previously supplied more than 1,500MW to Bangladesh, depending on demand.

The plant had been operating at reduced capacity for about a month due to coal shortages caused by disruptions to coal transportation following a storm.

Its generation increased towards the end of last month, with the plant supplying around 900MW during the day and up to 1,200MW from the evening until midnight.

Its output crossed 1,430MW around 1am on 9 September before one of its units shut down, bringing generation below 750MW.

After the second unit resumed operation today, Adani's supply to the national grid began increasing.

Rampal plant's coal supply improves

According to the plant sources, the 1,320MW Rampal power plant, jointly built by Bangladesh and India, had previously faced production cuts due to coal shortages. Its generation had recently increased to more than 1,100MW after coal supplies improved.

The project was initiated as a joint venture between Bangladesh and India in 2010. On 29 January 2012, the BPDB and India's NTPC Ltd signed an agreement, leading to the formation of Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) Ltd (BIFPCL).

Under BIFPCL, construction of the 1,320MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Project, commonly known as the Rampal power plant, began after 1,034 acres of land were acquired in Sapmari-Kai-Gordashkathi mouzas under Rajnagar and Gourambha unions of Rampal upazila.

The project was built at a cost of around Tk16,000 crore.

The plant's first unit began generation on 23 December 2022, while the second unit started trial generation on 24 October 2023. Commercial operations officially began on 12 March 2024.

However, the plant's generation has been disrupted more than 30 times since it began commercial operations due to technical faults and other reasons, according to reports.

With the second unit now offline, efforts are underway to restore it, while the first unit continues to supply electricity to the national grid.