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Ghorashal Power Plants

PDB aims to triple output

Plans conversion of 2 old units with little extra gas

Sharier Khan
The Power Development Board plans conversion of two old gas-fired power plants in Ghorashal to increase their generation capacity threefold using very little extra gas and thus save huge fuel cost.
PDB Chairman Alamgir Kabir told The Daily Star that if a heat- based 210 megawatt Ghorashal unit is turned into a combined cycle one, it is possible to have another 400 MW power. In combined cycle technology, the heat that escapes from the basic power plant is trapped and utilised for additional power generation.
In other words, this would save the PDB a lot of money required for buying and supplying primary energy like natural gas or liquid fuel, which are used for power generation. Ensuring the primary fuel has become a major concern due to several years of persistent gas crisis.
There are six power plant units in Ghorashal with four 210 MW ones. Each of these four units need 50 million
million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).
The PDB believes by adding another 40 mmcfd gas to such a unit if converted into a combined cycle one, the unit would be able to produce 610 MW very cheap power.
“We are looking at two old units in Ghorashal, among unit numbers three to five," said the PDB chairman.
“The World Bank is interested in funding conversion of one such unit. It has appointed a consultant to look into its feasibility, which will take six months. Then the World Bank will give its decision,” Alamgir said.
“But meanwhile we (PDB) are going to finance conversion of one such unit...We are going to ask the bidders to arrange loans for the scheme. PDB will guarantee repayment.”
In this manner, the PDB is looking at turning two
210 MW plants into two 610 MW ones. The gas efficiency of these plants is now 33 percent. It will exceed 50 percent after the conversion.
The government is now minimising the level of load shedding by relying on around two dozen rental power plants, most of which generate power using imported liquid fuel. As imported fuel is very costly, the PDB has turned to Tk 9,000 crore subsidy, half of which it now plans to cover by raising power tariff.
Some of these rental plants are using gas that are not being used by the old PDB plants which went out of order for technical reasons. The PDB's gas-based plants which suspended production include Ghorashal sixth 210 MW unit, Siddhirganj 210 MW unit and Raojan 210 MW second unit.
Of these, the PDB has
diverted the Ghorashal unit 6 gas to a 150 MW rental power plant that was previously generating power using costly imported diesel. This diversion is saving the PDB up to Tk 1,200 crore a year worth of diesel import. At the same time, such rental plant would provide the PDB back up support while the old plant is being repaired or another old plant is being converted into a combined cycle one.
As rental power generation costs are bleeding the PDB, it is now increasingly focusing on raising efficiencies of old gas-based power plants.
In line with Petrobangla's gas generation forecasts, the PDB believes that within a year the country's gas crisis will be temporarily solved and there will be some extra gas available to be utilised in the power sector.