Most fast-track diesel-based power plants remain idle Shahed SiddiqueThe fast-track diesel-based power plantprojects, which were supposed to generate a total of 900 megawatt electricity, have remained idle for months causing an annual loss of Tk 918 crore to the government, said experts. The costly fossil fuel-based power plants were initially awarded contracts to generate electricity within six months to mitigate the impending power crisis, but now with LNG-based power plants in use, there is no necessity to take electricity from those plants, they added. The diesel-based power plants, which remain almost inoperative round the year, are Acorn’s 200-MW rental plant at Daudkandi, Aggreko’s 200-MW plant and APR’s 300-MW plant at Keraniganj and Paramount Group’s 200-MW in Baghabari. Power Division Secretary Dr Ahmed Kaikaus admitted that this ‘idle state’ of the costly diesel-based power plants was causing the haemorrhage of the government’s funds because of the capacity payments that the BPDB needs to pay to those power plants. The BPDB has converted the biggest diesel-based 332-MW power plant of the Summit Group into gas from diesel.

Source: Energy Bangla October 16, 2019 18:37 UTC