Rampal plant resumes power generation after one month

PBC NEWS DESK: Rampal Power Plant has resumed its operation on Wednesday night through supplying 100 MW electricity into the national grid, which is only eight percent of its capacity.

Authorities of 1,320 MW capacity Rampal power plant have failed to resume its operation until 11.30pm due to technical glitch. Production in the plant has been resumed after one month.

“This plant was forced to shutdown on January 14 due to shortage of fuel (coal supply), coal reached at the jetty on February 9, accordingly we are set to resume the operation,” said Anwarul Azim, deputy general manager of Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL), also known as Rampal power plant.

Earlier, the BIFPCL official said State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid is expected to visit the plant on Thursday to see the situation on ground.Rampal unit-1 is under test run, yet to get the go-ahead signal to start its commercial operation.

Meanwhile, Rampal authorities received a consignment of 30,000 metric tons of coal, which can feed the plant only for the next 6 days as it needed 5,000 metric tons of coal per day.Another consignment of 50,000 MT of coal is also coming to the country soon, the official claimed.

Rampal 1320 MW capacity plant is a joint venture of Indian state-owned NTPC and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).BIFPCL authorities also informed that the plant’s unit-2 is expected to come into operation in June.