Power crisis shadows port city, sparked by gas-oil dependency

The port city of Chattogram is grappling with the spectre of a prolonged power shortage as an energy crisis unfolds, raising concerns among the residents and local authorities.

The crisis stems from the heavy reliance on gas and oil-dependent power plants, leaving the city vulnerable to shortages and disruptions. The recent gas crisis, which triggered a shortage in production leading to load shedding for hours, has rung the warning bell.

According to the Bangladesh Power Development Board, there are 25 units of power plants in the Chattogram region with a capacity to produce about 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity a day. 

Of these, five units of Kaptai Hydro Power Projects, two coal-based power plants of SS Power, and one Solar Power Project in Teknaf do not require gas or oil to run. The rest of the 17 units of power plants are either oil-powered or gas-driven.

Seeking anonymity, an engineer of PDB told TBS that with the winter season already impacting electricity availability, fears are rising that demand will surge in the future, and aggravate the crisis. "If there is any shortage of gas and oil, the electricity crisis will deepen in the upcoming summer," he feared.  

Alarming reports indicate that three of the five units at the Kaptai Hydro Power Plant are currently closed, generating a mere 86MW of electricity from the operational units.

The situation worsened as two gas-dependent units at the Raozan Power Plant remained non-operational for over a month due to a shortage of gas. 

Additionally, three units of Shikalbaha Power Plant, with a combined capacity of 375MW, are intermittently closed due to a shortage of gas and oil, according to officials concerned.

Adding to the complexity, Dohazari and Hathazari power plants, completely dependent on oil, face shutdowns for most of the year due to insufficient oil supply. Concerns are growing among PDB engineers, who fear the crisis might deepen in the coming 4-5 months.

Private power plants in Chattogram, numbering 14 and reliant on furnace oil, also contribute to the dire situation. Several of these private plants experience closures during fuel oil crises, aggravating further the city's electricity woes. Currently, three units of the Shikalbaha Power Plant and two units of Rauzan Thermal Power Plant are non-operational.

However, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon with the upcoming full production of two units at the Matarbari coal-based power plant in Cox's Bazar's Maheshkhali, set to generate 1,200MW each. 

However, a critical hurdle lies in the delayed construction of the transmission line connecting Matarbari to Chattogram's Madunaghat by the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB). This means that the electricity generated at Matarbari may bypass Chattogram and head directly to Dhaka, deepening fears of an impending electricity crisis in the region.

Ashok Kumar Chowdhury, supervising engineer of Chattogram Power Development Board, said that currently electricity generation is stable. 

"On Thursday morning at 7am, there was load-shedding of 100 MW, but as the day progressed the generation increased," he added.

He said, "During winter demand for electricity in Chattogram district remains between 800MW and 1000 MW. In summer demand fluctuates between 1,400MW and 1,500 MW."

Emphasising the crucial role of gas and oil in averting a crisis, he said, "Now everything depends on gas and oil. If we get gas and oil as per demand, then there should be no crisis."

According to a PDB report, on Thursday at 11am, 7 out of 25 units of power plants remained shut. The remaining plants generated 1105.5MW of electricity, from which Chattogram got a load of 1,012MW.