Adani 2nd unit back after 4 months
Bangladesh has substantially increased coal-fired power generation over the last several days as temperature starts rising with the arrival of warmest time of the year鈥攖hree-month-long pre-monsoon season.
The Godda-based coal-fired 1,347MW power plant in India, owned by the Adani Power, resumed operation on Saturday at its second unit which was closed for four months due to the non-payment of bills.
The 1,200MW coal-based Matarbari power plant is also available with its full capacity to generate power for the first time since December.
鈥楾he coal-based Rampal power plant is also set to start operation in a day or two,鈥� said Zahurul Islam, member of the Bangladesh Power Development Board and responsible for its power generation.
The 1,320MW Rampal power plant remained out聽 of operation since February 14 due to fuel shortage triggered by a dollar crisis.
Sources in the PDB said that coal supplies reached Rampal from the Payra power plant in Patuakhali district.
鈥榃e are trying to generate as much as it is possible from coal to keep generation cost low,鈥� said Zahurul.
The daily peak electricity demand surged by more than 2,000MW over the last several days with the peak power generation already exceeding 13,500MW.
At the moment, gas-fueled plants are generating 4,500鈥�5,000MW of electricity, followed by coal-fired plants producing 3,500鈥�4,000MW, and liquid fuel-based ones producing 2,000鈥�2,500MW, depending on the demand at the peak hour.
Bangladesh鈥檚 current power generation capacity is 27,790MW with natural gas accounting for almost 12,000MW, furnace oil 6,500MW, and coal 5,683MW.
The overall outstanding bill incurred by 121 power plants stood at Tk 38,373 crore until January 7, 2025. Over 60 per cent of the unpaid bills was owed to fuel suppliers.
The BPDB owes more than Tk 5,235 crore of the bills to coal-fired power plants, over Tk 5,942.86 crore to furnace oil-based power plants, and Tk 12,023 crore to gas-based power plants.
The outstanding fuel bill to the Adani power was Tk 2,825 crore, the highest amount among all coal-based power plants.
At the end of the last fiscal, per unit electricity generation cost using gas was Tk 6.31, while the generation cost from local coal-based plants was Tk 12.74. Diesel-based power generation was the costliest at Tk 47.12 per unit, followed by Tk 25.70 for furnace oil-based power generation. The generation cost at the Adani power plant was Tk 14.87. Imported power cost Tk 8.40 per unit, followed by hydro electricity generation at Tk 2.32, and solar at Tk 16.60.
On Monday, country鈥檚 highest maximum day temperature of 34C was recorded in Rajshahi. The maximum day temperature in Dhaka was recorded 32.6C.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department warned that the temperature could top 40C this month, which also coincided with the Muslim鈥檚 fasting month of Ramadan.
It remains to see how long the government can keep its coal plants operational.
The Matarbari coal-fired power plant has one lakh tonnes of coal in store which will enable the plant to keep running for just 10 days. Another 20 days鈥� worth of coal is on the way, the plant authority said.