3,000MW more power before next polls
PM approves proposal
SHAHED SIDDIQUE
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has approved the proposal for the generation of 3,000MW of power based on diesel and furnace oil. This amount of power will be generated sometime between next summer to December 2018, just before the next national elections, to meet the prevailing power crisis.
The Power Division has already instructed the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to shortlist all interested companies to help reach the decision to award the project to the highest bidder. On Tuesday, we sent a letter to the BPDB, instructing it to form a technical committee and verify all the received bidding documents, said a government official.
However, BPDB chairman Khaled Mahmud said: I havent received any letter. All I can tell you is that we can handle such tenders within a short time.
The BPDB has received 21 unsolicited proposals for the generation of 3,540 MW of furnace oil- and diesel-based power to meet electricity demands across the country. The proposals reached the BPDB on June 25, which was a holiday as part of the Eid vacation.
After the Eid vacation, the Power Division told the BPDB that the country suffered power outages amounting to 3,000MW this summer. This has surprised the policymakers as the actual demand was much more than the calculated amount.
Following the PMs approval, diesel- and furnace oil-based rental and quick rental power plants capable of producing 1,000MW1,500MW of power will be set up by independent power producers (IPPs). Moreover, 500MW furnace oil-based power plants will be set up by government-owned power generation companies. Another 1000MW furnace oil-based power plants will be awarded through open tender. The BPDB will arrange all the steps to implement these projects.
Sources said the BPDB received more than 35 unsolicited proposals for generating over 5,000MW of power till yesterday.
When we received 21 proposals on June 25, 2017, some self-interested companies or their local agents submitted more than 14 proposals without any request from the Power Division, said a government official.
To finalise the proposals, the Prime Minister has set some criteria. The main criterion is that reputed companies which do not have any record of paying late demurrage will be awarded the project. If a company can set up a furnace oil-based plant within nine months and a diesel-based plant within six months, it is likely to be awarded the project.
Sources said a list of proposals for rental and quick rental plants has been drafted in line with the guidelines provided by the Prime Ministers Office. The list could be finalised in a few weeeks.
The Power Division will hold a negotiation meeting, headed by the power secretary, with the bidders for the price of power that the goverment will buy from them. After that, the proposals will be sent to the Cabinet Committee for final approval. But the Power Division is trying to complete the process within a short time to start the actual work, said a BPDB official.
As per the Power Divisions instructions, the BPDB will call a international tender to install 1,000MW furnace oil-based power plants within one month. Besides, government-owned power generation companies will be awarded 100MW plants that will be set up by 2018.
But BPDB officials said the government has budged from its previous commitment as they informed the nation that there will be no fuel-based power plants after 2016. expect the approved 3000MW fuel based power plants , more than 1200MW furnace oil based 8 plants are awarded for private companies for the last six months .
The BPDB official said there is no plan to implement power projects for fuel-based power plants. If the governments decision is implemented after one year, the country will see a mushrooming of fuel-based power plants, he added.
Moreover, 500 MMCF of LNG will be imported in April 2018 to meet the power demand of the industrial sector. The BPDB and government-owned companies will have the capacity to generate over 800MW of power, if enough gas is available. At this stage, a new 3,000MW plant will be a burden for the nation, said a BPDB engineer.
If fuel-based power plants are set up, the per unit price of power would go up from Tk. 1 to Tk. 1.50, sources said.
Sources said that just before the Eid vacation, a high-level government team, headed by power secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikus, had met the potential bidders including the Summit Group, United Group, Aggreko Power and some other companies. The government team instructed them to bid for specific locations based on the power price that the PDB had received in the tender of November 6, 2016: furnace oil-based power priced at Tk 8.50 to Tk 8.60 per unit.
Some of the companies submitted their unsolicited tenders on June 25, the sources said. On submission day, the Summit Group proposed a 300 MW furnace oil-based plant in Kodda; Aggreko proposed 150 MW, Acron 500 MW and APR (USA) 200 MW in Keraniganj; Desh Energy proposed 50MW in Sirajganj; Orion proposed 100 MW and Samuda Power 100 MW in Khulna; Precceson proposed 150 MW in Chittagong; Power Source proposed 120 MW in Siddirgonj; Khan Brothers proposed 200 MW in Megnaghat; United Enterprise proposed 200 MW in Mymensingh; Aggreko proposed 200 MW in Coxs Bazar; Confidence Power proposed 100 MW in Rangpur and 100 MW in Bagura; Orion proposed 100 MW in Santaher; RI Power proposed 150 MW and Energy Pac 100 MW in Thakurgoan; Bangla Trac proposed 100 MW in Syedpur; Midland Power proposed 50 MW in Ashuganj; Shajibazar Power and Midland Power jointly proposed 150 MW and Power source 105 MW in Daudkandi; and Dhaka Northern Power Generations Limited, a subsidiary of Doreen Power, proposed 215 MW in Manikganj.
According to state minister for power Nasrul Hamids Facebook status, the countrys peak demand for power in summer was 14,000MW. The BPDB said the demand would be much more in 2018 and 2019.
