1,320 MW coal-fired Payra power plant may halt its production as banks have declined to open letters of credit (LCs) to import coal due to the dollar crisis, according to UNB.
“We may not continue our operation from February next if things are not settled”, Shah Abdul Moula, plant manager of the Bangladesh-China Power Company (Pvt.) Limited (BCPCL), said.
BCPCL, a joint venture of the Chinese firm China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CMC) and Bangladeshi state-owned North-West Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (NWPGCL), is the owner and operator of the Payra power plant.
The plant manager said that the plant is currently operating one unit having 660 MW while another 660 MW unit remained closed.
“We have planned to operate both the units at a time from January 19,” Maula said, adding that the two units could run with the current stocks of coal until the end of the current month.
“But if the new consignment of coal is not available, we have to shut down both the units from the first day of February next,” he said.
According to official sources, the Payra power plant needs to import 300,000 metric tonnes of coal every month to operate the plant in full swing.
The power plant has to spend about $ 5-6 million every month to import the required coal.
They said the BCPCL normally opens LC through state-owned Sonali Bank to import the coal. But recently Sonali Bank regretted opening the LC due to the dollar crisis.
Admitting about the problems, Abdul Maula said that the BCPCL authority has already communicated the issue to the Power Division to take necessary measures.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 21 last year inaugurated the 1320 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant at Patuakhali's Payra on a day when she also declared the country's 100 per cent electricity coverage.