A unit of the 1,600-megawatt Adani power plant in India’s Jharkhand has shut down following “technical fault” that further tightened Bangladesh’s power-supply situation amid ongoing gas, coal and liquid-fuel shortages.
Sources say the shutdown has cut down the plant’s generation by more than half.
The plant was generating more than 1,400 megawatts on Thursday night before one of its units went offline around midnight.
By Friday noon, its generation had fallen to 736mw, according to sources at Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB).
At 3:00am on Thursday, grid supply came down to 12,907 megawatts against 15,776 MWs in demand, leaving a 2,869mw shortfall.
Officials familiar with the plant said a technical glitch had developed in the boiler of one of its units. “The boiler may take around 48 hours to cool before repair can begin, meaning it could take several days for generation to return to normal.”
The BPDB signed a power-purchase agreement with the plant authority in 2017. The plant has supplied more than 1,500 megawatts at times, based on Bangladesh’s demand.
Meanwhile, the country’s power generation has come under increasing pressure for worsening energy shortage and technical glitches at some power plants.
According to BPDB sources, the gas shortage has persisted for more than two months, reducing generation from gas-fired power plants by up to 1,500 MWs. Several coal-fired plants are also operating below capacity due to fuel shortages and technical problems.
Latest generation data show that BPDB generates 13,000-14,000 MWs against peak-hour demand exceeding 16,000 MWs, leaving a significant supply deficit. Current production relies primarily on gas-fired plants (5,000 MWs), coal-fired units (4,500 MWs), and liquid-fuel plants (2,000-3,000 MWs).
Generation at the Payra power plant in Patuakhali has also been affected, with one unit remaining offline for several days due to coal shortages and a technical fault. Another power plant in Patuakhali is also facing a coal shortage.
Sources said authorities were trying to offset the shortfall by increasing generation from oil-fired power plants to make do with.
However, the additional generation has not been sufficient to fully ease the pressure on the power-supply system.
Load shedding has also increased as electricity demand rises with higher temperatures even at the fag-end of the outgoing summer.
Despite Friday being a weekly holiday, load shedding exceeded 2,500 MWs in the morning. It later fell to 414 MWs at about 2:00pm as generation increased.
The shutdown of one of Adani’s units, along with fuel shortages and technical glitches at other plants, is likely to put additional pressure on the country’s power- supply system over the coming days.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/adani-plants-one-unit-trips-amid-bangladesh-power-crunch
