Home ›› 27 Jan 2023 ›› Editorial
An all-pervasive power crisis is looming on the horizon with coal supply disruption due to dollar crisis. We have heard a lot from the high-ups in the government that the dollar crisis would be over in a very short span of time. But still there is nothing in sight that can console people that it will really be over very soon.
In the face of soaring cost of living, people have already begun to compromise with their protein consumption let alone fruits. Nobody can now think of fruits when they have to grapple with buying vegetables without which daily meals are beyond our
imagination. When this is the reality coal supply disruption has now become a serious matter of concern. Winter is not yet gone but power crisis has already begun to disrupt daily life and business activities.
Bangladesh has three coal-fired power plants – Payra, Rampal and Barapukuria. Of them, on 14 January electricity production at the Rampal Thermal Power Plant in Bagerhat came to a halt just after 27 days of its commercial operation due to the shortage of coal required for the plant. Of the rest two coal-fired power plants, three units of the Barapukuria Power Plant are running on local coal while Payra Power Plant is completely dependent on imported coal.
If Payra Power Plant has to meet the same fate for shortage of coal due to foreign currency crisis like that of the Barapukuria Power Plant then it will certainly lead the country to a power disaster. The crisis will deepen more as the Barapukuria Power Plant is likely to suspend its production from March to June for its phase development. The coal extracted locally will not be able to generate power for three to four months.
As the coal-fired power plants meet the country’s 15.60 per cent demand for electricity of the country, any kind of disruption in generation of power in those plants will spell terrible disaster. Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) officials told The Business Post that due to the ongoing dollar shortage, Rampal and Payra power plants authorities were unable to place import orders to Indonesia, the major coal-sourcing country for the two plants.
If the situation worsens then the government will also can’t carry out its plan to shut down highly expensive 12 diesel-fired power plants in the coming summer to lessen the burden of people by not hiking the price of electricity. If those diesel-fired power plants run on rental basis can’t be stopped, the country will see more frequent price hikes of electricity in the days to come.
Along with the shortage of electricity comes the capacity charge made to independent power producers (IPPs). Capacity charge is based on a plant’s capacity and establishment costs. If the government fails to supply coal to those power plants they can’t go into operation but as per the agreement with them the government has to pay them a big chunk of money even if they sit idle. The government already paid a total of over Tk35, 046 crore in capacity payments to IPPs owned by 55 companies.
A story ran by the Business Post quoting a BPDB official said Payra and Rampal power plants would have to pay huge capacity payments it they halted production. As a result, BPDB’s
financial deficit would increase further. He again said: “If production is halted at two units of Payra Power Plant for a month, the authorities will have to pay at least Tk160 crore as capacity payment. Rampal Power Plant will have to pay Tk80 crore capacity payment for one unit.”
So, the government is now in a dilemma over the power plants. It is now a matter of time to see how the government handles the problem. Until and unless dollar crisis can’t be solved there is no quick solution in sight.
