Severe power crisis grips Chittagong region

4 March 2009, 18:00 PM

CU Correspondent

The SSC examinees in Chittagong are bearing the brunt of serious power crisis as the Power Development Board (PDB) is now supplying less than half of the demand in Chittagong region. Consumers under the PDB region comprising vast areas of Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban districts, are now facing 220MW load-shedding in the night and 130MW in the daytime. Against the total capacity of 766 MW of ten power units under three power plants in Chittagong region only 130MW power are being generated in the day-hours while on average 220MW in the peak-hours of night against the total demand of around 530MW, said sources in PDB Chittagong PDB. National grid contributes 160MW to 170MW in daytime and 110MW to 120MW in the peak hours to raise the supply. PDB sources said only one 210MW-capacity unit, out of two at Raozan Thermal Power Plant, now produces 130MW in the day-hours while two 50MW-capacity units out of five units in Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Plant add 85MW to 90MW in the peak-hours of night. Seven other power units are now remaining idle due to lack of sufficient gas supply and fall of water level in Kaptai Lake. The PDB now gets 30 to 32 million-cubic-feet gas since demand of gas slightly declined in Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd (CUFL) during the last few days. The Chittagong PDB requires 100 to 102 million-cubic-feet gas for running all the gas-fired plants while Raozan plant alone needs 90 million-cubic-feet. But, against such huge demand the PDB normally gets 20 to 22 million-cubic-feet, sources said. Water level in Kaptai Lake was 81.13msl (mean sea level) yesterday while it usually stands at 96.02msl in this season. In the rainy season the level stands at highest 109.00msl, which is standard level for running all the units there. PDB Chief Engineer Tulashi Das Saha said there is no way to get rid of the crisis immediately if it does not start raining. “Rise of water level in Kaptai Lake can help to mitigate the crisis to some extent. The situation will improve more with power supply from under-construction fuel-fired 50MW-capacity rental power plant at Shikalbaha on the other bank of Karnaphuli River in June,” he said.