PDB power generation costs Tk 822 per unit

Mahfuja Mukul: Average cost of power generation increased by more than 29 percent in FY 2022-23. High-capacity charges to the private sector for installing power plants, increase in fuel prices (gas, coal and oil) and increase in dollar exchange rate are among the reasons. However, at this time nominal power generation is produced in some centers of Power Development Board (PDB). The same picture was in some other government centers. The cost of power generation in these centers is unusually high.
According to PDB data, Syedpur power station generated nominal output last fiscal year. At this time, the 20 MW capacity diesel powered power plant is running less than one percent. It produces only one lakh 83 thousand 290 kilowatt hours of electricity. In this extremely inefficient center, diesel cost Tk 73.83 per unit of electricity production. An average cost of maintenance of the center is Tk 13.72. And fixed expenses including salaries and allowances are Tk 734.63 for each unit. That is, Tk 822.13 paise has been spent on the production of electricity per unit.
Meanwhile, the 105 MW Tongi power station was operating at only 1 percent of its capacity last fiscal year. It produced 59.32 lakh units. In this gas-powered plant, fuel cost per unit of electricity production is Tk 9.61. The average expenditure for the maintenance of the center is Tk 2.57. However, the fixed cost including salaries and allowances is Tk 100.64 for each unit. In this, the cost per unit of electricity production is Tk 112.81.
The diesel-powered Rangpur Power Station has a production capacity of 20 MW. In FY2022-23, the center is running at just one per cent of capacity. It cost Tk 34.18 per unit of electricity production. The average cost of maintenance of the center is Tk 3.40. And fixed expenses including salaries and allowances are Tk 46.72 for each unit. It cost Tk 84.30 per unit of electricity production.
Apart from these three, PDB and two government diesel powered power plants cost more than normal. One of these is Khulna 330 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant. Last financial year, the diesel-powered power plant produced 22.33 million units, which is 27 percent of the capacity. The average production cost is Tk 37.52. However, the fuel cost was Tk 33.43.
According to PDB data, the 225 MW plant of Northwest Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) in Sirajganj was operating at 21 percent of capacity last fiscal. The cost of power generation in this diesel-powered center is on an average Tk 37.71. And NWPGCL’s 230 MW plant located in Khulna has cost an average of Tk 33.31. The center is running at 22 percent capacity. The reason for the high cost of these two centers is the high cost of fuel. The average fuel cost per unit of power generation in the two centers is Tk 27.11 and Tk 24.56 respectively.
Apart from this, PDB’s Hatia diesel generator station has an average cost of Tk 30.65 for power generation. Average fuel cost in this center was Tk 19.80. The 2 MW capacity plant was running only 23 percent of the time last fiscal. The center is mainly run to meet the local needs of Hatia Island.