Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Siddhirganj power plant 
shut down for gas crisis


Crippled by gas crisis, the newly built Siddhirganj power plant has been shut down just within eight days of its inauguration by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, official sources said Tuesday.
Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB), a subsidiary of the state-owned Power Development Board (PDB), implemented the power-plant project and commenced the 120-MW unit-1 of the 240-MW plant, under a crash course for dealing with a perennial electricity crisis. The PM inaugurated its operation on February 14. The other same-capacity unit of the twin-plant is supposed to come into operation within next two months.
According to sources, the EGCB shut down the plant on February 23 (Monday) after completion of a test run.
An official at the EGCB told UNB that despite gas crisis, they had to commence operation of the plant because of the fact that the PM would inaugurate it to mitigate the power crunch.
"Instructed by the higher authority, we had to arrange gas supply to the new plant through diverting gas from the existing 210-MW thermal plant at the Siddhirganj station and from other sources," said an EGCB official on condition of anonymity.
He noted that the gas-supply company, Titas, had to cut gas supply to other industries in Siddhirganj and its adjoining Narayanganj and Rupganj industrial belt.


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