Anisul Islam Noor
The country’s power sector cannot work according to its plan as a group of influential, private power plant entrepreneurs, is creating barrier in different way to implement big power plant projects, an official of Power Development Board (PDB) said.
By making delayed to install the duel fuel combined power plants, they are being gained as the government has to force to renewal the contract of rental and quick rental plants, he said, wishing disclose himself.
Resulting instability gripped in the power sector and dependent on costly fuel oil run rental and quick rental power plants are being raised, which is forced the government to step for raising power price frequently in last four years.
Despite provide subsidy about Tk3850 crore, it has to rise power price recorded times to make a financial balance in the power sector.
But experts said, the government failed to implement big volume base load power plants, as a pro-government business group has been awarded contract several power plants one after another including Bibiana-1 and Bibiana-2.
PDB sources said, Summit Group, a big player of private sector, participated at 13 tender till October 2011, at first, Sayedpur and Santahar power plants were awarded to summit, which generation capacity of each is 100MW.
Later the company got Bibiana-1, Bibiana-2 and Gehnaghat power plants, and generation capacity of these is around 1100MW. But Summit groups have been delayed the construction of these power plants showing different causes and recently it has issued a letter to PDB to express their unwillingness for implanting the project Bibiana-1. Both bibiana-1 and bibiana-2 were scheduled to start generation in middle of 2013. Now these are uncertain to come into generation within the period of the government.
If the big size power plant projects are implemented in the scheduled time, the government can get relief from the burden of costly electricity, which is now bought at cost up to Tk18 per kilowatt.
In the meantime Summit group implemented some rental power plant projects around generation capacity 300MW, though they have been failed to build the gas run power big power plants.
As a result the government has to break the promise for generating 4500MW electricity, but it is being hampered while the Summit Groups failed to implement the projects of three big power plants.
Rental power plants run by summit groups are Saver, Chandina, Madabdi, Rupganj, Maouna,Jangalia and Ullapara, which generation capacity 10MW to 45 MW, and Madanganj plants is generated around 100MW.
Meanwhile, the government has renewed the contract of seven rental power plants for one year with same condition and rate, though the rental power plants has taken invested capital with profit in its scheduled tenure.
Professor Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) told The New Nation that these power plants were given without tender under special Act, which price rate designed as the company would return the invested capital with profit in its three or five year term.
The rate of the renewed rental power plants should re-fixed adjusting the real cost, he said.
M Tamim, former Adviser of CareTaker government told that for delaying of generation electricity from the coal and gas based power plants, dependent on the costly rental system will be soared up.
An official of Summit Groups, wishing no to be named told The New Nation that the company is trying to come into generation in time.
However, the reporter tries several times on yesterday to talk with MrNuruddin, CEO of Summit group, but he did not receive mobile.
