Due to a lack of coal, production at Payra thermal power plant is being stopped. The authorities have announced the shutdown of a unit of 660 MW. This is the first time that Payra power plant is shutting down completely after it came into production three years ago. This may increase load shedding.
Sources of the coal-based power plant say that they have only 50,000 tonnes of coal in stock and each of the two units requires around 6,000 tonnes of coal per day. Accordingly, the second unit of 660 MW is not too late to be closed.
The CMC has prohibited the sale of coal to the Payra power plant due to dues of more than six months, according to information provided by BCPCL in a letter to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, PDB, and Bangladesh Bank on April 27. The letter stated that the supply of coal would be suspended until the debt was cleared.
According to officials of the Power Development Board (PDB), Pyara has been the source of electricity for three years. It didn`t even stop for a day. Production will be drastically affected if the country`s most reliable power plant is shut down due to a coal shortage. The amount of differences between the demand and supply of electricity will increase if it is stopped. This might lead to more load shedding. Already, a lot of power plants are not operating because of gas shortages.
Bangladesh-China Power Company Limited (BCPCL) operates the power plant and China National Machinery Import and Export Company (CMC), which holds a 50 percent stake, supplies the coal. CMC collects money from Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) within 6 months of paying the bill.
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