Move to generate power thru' RPPs hits snag

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FE Report
A government move to generate 530 megawatt (mw) of electricity through installation of eight rental power projects (RPPs) under private initiative faces yet another blow due to delay in the project awarding process.
Although bids for five RPPs were placed before the cabinet committee on public purchase, the scheduled meeting of the committee was to discuss the project proposal Thursday but no decisions were taken, official sources said.
The bids for five RPPs along with a proposal for purchasing 0.35 million units of single phase metres were the agenda of the purchase committee meeting, an official source said.
The power ministry recently submitted the five selected offers to the purchase committee for approval, they mentioned.
The selected RPPs are: Barishal 50mw unit, Bheramara 100 mw, Jamalpur 30 mw, Noapara 100 mw and Thakurgaon 50 mw unit.
Last September, the state-run BPDB invited tender for installation of eight RPPs on a fast-track basis, official sources said, adding three other RPPs were Katakhali 50 mw, Madanganj 100 mw and Syedpur 50 mw.
Four of the proposed RPPs, having total electricity generation capacity of 250 mw were to be diesel-fired while the four others (280 mw) would be furnace oil-run, they mentioned.
According to the proposal, the BPDB would buy electricity from furnace-oil run rental power units for five years while electricity would be purchased for three years from diesel-fired RPPs.
As per the original schedule, the awarding of the proposed RPP projects is to be completed by November, 2009.
The key purpose of installing the RPPs was to cope with the power scarcity anticipated during the next summer season, especially for facilitating irrigation dung the upcoming Boro cultivation season, sources said.
But the implementation of the power projects, according to sources, might not be possible in time following the current delay in their awarding process.