Kaptai Lake & power generation
Photo: Banglapedia
There have been discussions about the decreasing power generation in Kaptai Hydro Electric Power Plant during the dry season, but nothing has been done so far to rectify the situation. A Chittagong daily has reported that gradual decrease of water level in the lake is also decreasing power generation. Generation of power has fallen drastically and the government is urged to take some steps to rectify the situation before it is too late. As we know Kaptai Hydro Electric Power Plant is the only one of its kind in Bangladesh & produces power at a low cost. The other power generation units are now run on gas and currently the supply of gas being low, a number of power stations are either closed or generating much below their capacity. For both reasons- being cheap and not dependant on gas, the authorities concerned should take immediate remedial steps so that we can avoid similar problems every year during the dry season. The report says that water level of Kaptai Lake is going down due to which some of the power generation units have been shut down, resulting in decreased power generation from this power plant. Actually, I feel that the lake is being silted up and if this continues then we may face a major problem with the Kaptai Power Plant. There has been some discussion in the past about dredging the lake. Yes, dredging may be a costly proposition but considering the low cost of power generation and its being not dependent on gas, the government should seriously consider dredging the lake as soon as possible. Of course, an expert committee has to look into the above problems and decide on the remedial steps to be taken.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments