Power crisis is likely to ease in Chittagong with two rental and one state-run power plants expecting to generate 227 megawatt more power by April next year.

Of the three plants, a 22-MW rental power plant at Barabkunda in Sitakunda will go into operation by this month.

Regent Power Limited, a private firm, set up the gas-fired plant at a cost of Ik 100 crore and would get gas for generation from the pipeline of Bakhrabad Gas Systems Limited (BGSL). said sources at the Power Development Board (PDB).

Besides, construction work is going on in full swing for another 73.8-MW capacity furnace oil-fired rental power plant at Shikalbaha in Patiya upazila, which aims to go into operation by June this year.

Energies Power Corporation Limited, a private firm, started constructing the plant in January this year.

According to the agreement with the government, the furnace oil-fired plant at Shikalbaha will supply 55 MW power to the PDB and the rest to private firms, sources at the PDB said.

They said a readymade power plant will be brought from Germany by a ship next month and set up on the under construction structures. Royce Power, a Hong Kong-based company, will provide technical assistance for the project.

Another state-owned 150 MW Peaking Power Plant is being set up in Shikalbaha area at a cost ofTk 534 crore. The plant is likely to go into generation by April next year.

PDB Chief Engineer Jyotish Chandra Biswas told UNB that the 22MW plant would go into test operation by next two or three days and in regular operation by this month.

"We will get 55 MW power from the 73.BMW plant which will start generation on June28, if no unexpected problem

arises." he said adding that the state-run 150MW plant will provide power to the consumers by April next year to reduce the ongoing acute crisis to a great extent.

Due to lack of gas and fall of water level in the Kaptai Lake, one 210 MW capacity unit at Raozan Thermal Power Plant produces on an average 150 MW power during daytime while another two units of Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Plant with 50 MW capacity each add on an average 80-85 MW in the peak-hours of night against total capacity of 766 MW in ten power units under the three existing power plants in Chittagong.

The PDB gets 150-200 MW power from the national grid during daytime and 140-150

MW during peak hours.

As a result, the power consumers under Chittagong PDB have to experience on an average 120-140 MW load shedding during daytime and 200-220 MW in the peak hours while the total demai id stands at550-575 MW.

However, a 210 MW unit of the Raozan plant generated 100 MW power temporarily from the early hours of Thursday since the BGSL spared gas following regular maintenance at the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Limited (CUFL) factory, said the sources.

Against the demand of 100-102 million cubic feet for running all the gas-fired plants in Chittagong, the PDB normally gets 40 million cubic feet gas.