Rampal back to power generation

Electricity generation at Rampal thermal power plant in Bagerhat was restored at around 1am on Wednesday, three days after production halted due to a mechanical failure.

Anwarul Azim, deputy manager of the plant’s owner entity Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL), said after the plant restarted, it is generating and supplying 400 MW of electricity to the Khulna region.

After power generation had halted, load-shedding increased in the country’s southwestern region causing much suffering among people.

The 1,320 MW coal-fired plant is a joint venture of Bangladesh and India. The electricity generated here was commercially connected to the national grid on December 17 last year.

Less than a month later, on January 14, production was stopped due to a coal shortage. Production of the first unit started again on February 15.

In 2013, the Bangladesh Power Development Board signed an agreement with its Indian counterpart to establish the much-talked-about coal-induced power plant to produce cost-effective electricity.

The estimated cost for the setup of the Rampal Power Plant project is $2 billion. Some 83 per cent of the project has so far been completed.