Rampal plant resumes trial operation

The much-talked Rampal coal-fired power plant in Bagerhat has resumed its operation on an experimental basis, aiming to commission its first unit in December.

The Unit-1 of the plant, owned by the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Private Ltd (BIFPCL), started the power generation on Friday with permission from the National Load Dispatch Center (NLDC), under the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB).

“The load testing of the unit will attempt to reach 660MW in phases,” BIFPCL Deputy General Manager Anwarul Azim told the media.

He said if the target is achieved, the first unit will go into commercial production in December while the second unit is supposed to go into commercial operation in June 2023.

On August 15, the experimental power generation of the first unit started but it was halted when the electricity generation reached 400MW after Cyclone Sitrang hit the area on October 24.

Officials related to the power plant project said after several stages of testing, the NLDC will issue the certificate of commercial power generation capacity.

The BIFPCL is expected to supply electricity to the national grid commercially from December while the work on the second unit has progressed by 80 per cent.

The 1,320 (2x660)MW power plant is being set up at a cost of approximately $2 billion and is located in the Bagerhat district near the global heritage Sundarbans.

It is being built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for the BIFPCL, a 50:50 joint venture company between India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).