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    • Dec 3, 2023
    • 4 min read

Kumargaon 50 MW (Energy Prima) DFG Power Plant

Current Status: Expired


Kumargaon 50 MW Gas Power Plant, also known as Energy Prima Sylhet Rental Power Plant, is a reciprocating engine power plant situated at Kumargaon Upazila in Sylhet District of Bangladesh (Location: 24.6844, 91.9176). It is sponsored by Energy Prima Limited (EPL), a subsidiary of Hosaf Group, as a Rental Power Plant (RPP) for three years. The sponsors declared its Commercial Operation Date (COD) on 12 July 2008 and, as per schedule, the power plant was to retire on 11 July 2011. However, the tenure was extended several times. Finally, it was to retire on 16 December 2022 after 14 years of operation.


Capacity

The installed and net capacity of Energy Prima Kumargaon Gas Power Plant is 54 MW and 50 MW respectively.


Context

Energyprima Limited (EPL), a sister concern of Hosaf Group, is one of the pioneers among the private sector rental power generation companies in the country. Energyprima Limited initiated a 50 MW power plant project in Kumargaon, which was operational using state-of-the-art Caterpillar gas engines. This facility efficiently produced approximately 50 MW of electricity and swiftly connected it to the national grid. The plant commenced its commercial operations in July 2008 (Hosaf Group, 2016).


The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was originally signed on January 16, 2008 (NP, 2008). The sponsors officially declared the Commercial Operation Date (COD) as July 12, 2008, with an initial plan for the power plant's retirement set for July 11, 2011, but it started commercial operation on 23 July, 2008. However, this tenure has been extended multiple times: first in August 2011 for four years (Independent, 2018), and subsequently, on April 8, 2015, for an additional three years (EB, 2015). After completion of an extension for 10 years, in January 2018, the sponsor again applied for an extension of five years (Independent, 2018). The power plant was scheduled to be retired on 4 January 2020 (BPDB, 2020). However, the Power Division extended the period of operation for one more year till December 2021 (Daily Sun, 2020). On 11 March 2021, the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources (MOPEMR) informed the parliament that it would not extend the tenure of any rental or quick rental power plant (DT, 2021).


The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) extended the period of PPA on 24 December 2021 for another one year of period till 31 December 2022 under the No Electricity No Payment (NENP) method (FE, 2021). Under the new agreement, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity from the power plant at a rate of USD 0.03397 (BDT 2.79 in 2021) per kWh. As a result, it will have to pay BDT 865.20 million to Energy Prima in the period (FE, 2022).


Land Acquisition

The land area of this power plant is approximately 2.31 acres (Measured with Google Earth)


Finance

Not much has been found about the finances of the power plant.


Sponsor

The sponsor of this powerplant is Energy Prima Ltd., a subsidiary of Hosaf Group.


Contractor

The power plant has 29 nos. of engines and the contractor is Caterpillar (Hosaf Group, 2016).


Fuel Supply

No data has been found about the fuel supply of the power plant.


Power Generation

Its Commercial Operation started on 12 July 2008 and a total of 3,220.48 GWh power had been generated till 2022-23.


Environment

Natural gas, which is primarily composed of methane but may contain other hydrocarbons, is a fossil fuel. When used for power generation, it releases harmful pollutants such as CO2, NOx, CO, VOCs, and PM, which can have adverse effects on human health and contribute to air pollution. NOx can lead to respiratory problems, CO affects oxygen circulation, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are associated with various health issues, and the formation of ozone can occur. Particulate matter, particularly PM2.5, is particularly harmful and has been linked to lung cancer and heart disease. It is a matter of concern that there is no EIA report of this power plant. It's important to note that peaker plants, which are less efficient and more polluting than combined cycle plants for power generation, should also be considered in this context. Given the carbon emissions associated with natural gas, it is essential to implement a carbon tax. Transitioning from gas to renewable energy sources in the near future would be a more environmentally responsible choice.


Criticism

Energy Prima struggled to complete a 100-hour test run of a 50-megawatt rental power plant in Kumargaon in 2008. The test run of the Kumargaon plant commenced on 30 June 2008 and as of 01 July 2008 evening, it had successfully generated 50MW. According to an insider, it needed to undergo testing for 100 hours before it became eligible for commercial operation. The power ministry, over a span of three years, advocated for some costly rental power agreements, asserting that they could be set up within 120 days and If all eight of the rental power projects become operational, the Power Development Board (PDB) would face a monthly loss of Tk 40 crore where Kumargaon 50 MW Gas Power Plant was one of them (Daily Star, 2008).


Capacity Charge

BPDB had to pay $466.67 USD (BDT 33,133.57 when $1 USD = BDT 71) to the sponsor as a capacity charge per day (Ali, 2020). BPDB had to pay the sponsor a total of BDT 715.80 crore capacity charge till FY 2022-2023. Total generation was 3,220.48 gWh and per unit cost was $2.83 USD until FY 2022-2023.

References

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