The operation of 1,320MW coal-fired Payra power plant is likely to face closure as banks have declined to open the letter of credit (LC) to import coal due to the dollar crisis.
“We may not continue our operation from February next if things are not settled,” Shah Abdul Moula, plant manager of the Bangladesh-China Power Company (Pvt) Ltd (BCPCL), told UNB.
BCPCL, a joint venture of the Chinese firm China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) and Bangladeshi state-owned North-West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL), is the owner and operator of the Payra power plant.
Moula said that the plant is currently operating one unit having 660MW while another 660MW unit remained closed.
“We have planned to operate both units at a time from January 19,” he said, adding that the two units could run with the current stocks of coal until the end of the current month.
“But if the new consignment of coal is not available, we have to shut down both units from the first day of February next,” he said.
According to official sources, the Payra power plant needs to import 3 lakh tonnes of coal every month to operate the plant in full swing. It has to spend about $5-6 million each month to import the required coal.
They said the BCPCL normally opens LC through state-owned Sonali Bank to import the coal. But recently the bank regretted opening the LC due to the dollar crisis.
Admitting the problems, Moula said the BCPCL authorities have already communicated the issue to the Power Division to take necessary measures.
On March 21 last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 1,320MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in Patuakhali's Payra on a day when she also declared the country's 100 per cent electricity coverage.
This milestone achievement puts Bangladesh ahead of India and Pakistan among the South Asian nations to light up every house with electricity.
The BCPCL has set up the plant using ultra-supercritical technology at over $2 billion as part of a development partnership on 982.77 acres of land.
The Export-Import Bank of China lent $1.96 billion for the project. The company started operation in 2016.
This kind of coal-fired power plant using ultra-supercritical technology is the thirteenth in the world and seventh in South Asia.
The technology used for this plant aims at protecting the environment in line with the government's policy, officials said.
After undergoing test runs for about five months, the first unit of the power plant started commercial operation in May 2020. In October 2020, the second unit of the 660MW plant started its commercial operation.
Payra and 1,320MW Rampal power plants have been implemented targeting the power evacuation from both plants and transmitting power to Dhaka city and adjoining areas to meet growing power demand.
The Payra power plant is burning some 13,000 tonnes of coal a day. It has a 76.30-acre dumping zone where 25 years’ worth of by-products can be kept.
The plant is currently importing coal from Indonesia. It has its own jetty whose conveyor belts can unload 3,200 tonnes of coal every hour from four vessels at the same time.
Bangladesh's power generation capacity reached 25,514MW from just 3,200MW in 2009, according to the data.
