Shutdown of Adani unit worsens load shedding

Bangladesh’s power crisis has deepened as a technical fault forced one unit of India’s Adani Power’s Godda plant to shut down, further widening a generation shortfall that has already pushed load shedding sharply higher.

The power deficit has remained between about 1,000MW and more than 3,200MW in recent days, according to official data, with the shortfall crossing 3,000MW at several points during the night.

One of the two 800MW units of the 1,600MW Adani Power plant in Jharkhand went offline around 11pm on September 9 after a boiler fault, putting fresh pressure on Bangladesh’s electricity supply. The plant’s output fell from around 1,430MW before the shutdown to about 758MW afterwards.

Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) officials said it may take more than 48 hours to repair the fault and restart the unit.
Officials concerned at the Power Division said daily power demand is now around 15,000MW. 

But amid high temperatures, night-time demand can rise above 17,000MW. Generation cannot match the increased demand, forcing distribution companies to resort to increased load shedding.

"Load shedding has increased over the past few days because electricity is not being generated according to demand. One unit of the Adani power plant has been shut due to a boiler fault. This may increase load shedding further. However, we are trying to manage the situation by increasing supply from other plants," a BPDB official said, requesting anonymity.

The supply deficit has been particularly evident during the night. On Thursday night, power demand was estimated at around 17,300MW. At 1am, the national grid supplied 16,404MW, while load shedding stood at 2,981MW. From 1am to 8am, load shedding at different times ranged from about 1,000MW to more than 3,000MW.

On Friday, a weekly holiday, daytime demand was relatively lower. Between noon and 5pm, demand ranged from about 13,200MW to 14,500MW, while load shedding was between 200MW and 550MW.

Power sector stakeholders identify inadequate fuel supply as the main reason for the generation shortfall, particularly the shortage of gas for gas-fired plants. Although the country has about 12,500MW of gas-based generation capacity, current output from these plants is only around 5,200MW.

At present, oil-fired plants are generating up to about 3,500MW, coal-fired plants around 5,000MW, while solar, hydro and wind together are producing a little over 1,000MW. About 2,000MW is being imported.