Bangladesh faces severe power shortage after shutdown of its largest power plant

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladesh shut down a major power plant on Monday due to a delay in importing coal caused by the foreign reserves shortage in the country.

The Payra Thermal Power Plant, with a capacity of 1,320 megawatts of electricity, has been completely shut down due to a lack of coal, Shah Golam Mowla, project director of the power plant, told Anadolu.

A shipment of approximately 37,000 tons of coal is scheduled to arrive on June 25, he said, adding that the central bank has provided an immediate $100 million support for coal imports.

The Payra power project is a joint venture of the Bangladesh government and China National Machinery Import and Export Company (CMC), which began producing electricity in 2020 and has reached its maximum capacity.

​​​​​​​The coal shipment will take at least 20 to 25 days to arrive in the country, said Nasrul Hamid, minister of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, at an event on the outskirts of capital Dhaka on Saturday, citing the only reason as a delay in opening Letters of Credit (LCs) for coal import.

One of the two units was shut down late last month due to a lack of coal. According to the local daily Dhaka Tribune, the power crisis began when the CMC failed to pay outstanding bills totaling $390 million for coal supply until April.

"We have been working on this for the past two months," Hamid told reporters at the government secretariat on Sunday.

However, there are several issues that must be addressed, he said, adding that the current economic situation, as well as the supply of oil and gas, necessitate concentrated efforts.

The country now has a power shortage of approximately 1,700 megawatts because of the shutdown of several power plants, he added.

Meanwhile, people across Bangladesh, including Dhaka, have been suffering from frequent power outages due to severe heat waves in several parts of the country.

No rain is expected in Dhaka until June 9, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, which recorded the highest temperature of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in western Rajshahi district and 37.1 degrees Celsius (98.78 degrees Fahrenheit) in Dhaka.