Power crisis in Khulna Zone likely to drag on

Overhauling of plants needs at least six months

26 April 2009, 18:00 PM

Quazi Amanullah, Khulna

There is no hope of early relief from power crisis for the people of Khulna Zone as four of the six power generating plants under Khulna Power Station (KPS) need replacement for resuming their production. Installation of four new wall tubes imported from abroad will take at least six months and consequently, Khulna Zone is set to reel under severe power outages for the period when the area will face load shedding for over 12 hours a day, KPS sources said. All the four old wall tubes of 110 MW plant need to be replaced with new ones. The four wall tubes comprise 467 support tubes that also require replacement or repair, said a source of KPS. The plant was shutdown on Tuesday noon as all wall tubes developed big leakages. The 110 MW plant installed at Khulna Power Station in 1984 has become totally ineffective and inoperative after generating 327 crore 95 lakh and 37,329 kilowatts of electricity in 44,117 hours. It underwent the last overhauling in July 2007. Another 60MW plant of KPS was shut down on July 5 in 2006 as it lost capacity to produce electricity due to major technical faults, KPS sources said, adding that total overhauling will be needed as this plant has become completely ineffective. If totally overhauled, the two power plants with 110 and 60 MW capacities are expected to resume power generation for at least six years at a stretch. At least Tk 170 crore is needed for overhauling of the 110 and 60 MW power plants but the fund is yet to be available from the government, he said.