Rental power plants
The basic principle of installing rental power plants as reported in a local English daily on 28 July appears lopsided, short sighted and does not make financial sense, as costs per kwh for rental plants will be higher.
Additionally, conditions on minimum off take at these higher prices have to be guaranteed.
A much cheaper option is to buy available surplus power from many stand-by and regular power plant installed in industries, public buildings, shopping centres and offices etc. This available capacity can be tapped much more quickly , and power made available to the grid in a much shorter time. The government should set a realistic power tariff; based upon fuel used and the gen-set rating, with a reasonable mark up on actual variable cost of generation. It should also be indexed to the changes in prices of fuel and luboil to be realistic. The current flat rate of Tk.2.2 per kwh, will fall flat, except for a few older higher capacity gas fired gen-sets; as it is not realistic with current operating cost base. Unfortunately, most of the desk bound officials fixing the tariff are not aware of these realities, having no real life experience on cost management and control which are the fundamentals of private ventures.
Further, to meet our perennial power shortage and regular increase of power demand, it will be best to go for a nuclear power plant. The wisest option would be the South African designed and built "Pebble-Bed" type nuclear reactor based power plant. This design is inherently and "fool-proof safe".
A number of such plants have been running in South Africa for some years.
Its safety and reliability, along with no hazard in disposal of its waste, presents a very attractive and assuredly safe option. No massive concrete containment domes are needed. This power plant without the usual associated steam boiler/turbine combination and its needed auxiliaries are smaller in size and less expensive compared to other types of nuclear power plants now operating. Also the land required is much smaller.
It is unfortunate that very few technical personnel concerned in Bangladesh are aware of this! We should go for this option without further delay, and the time is now!
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