Signing of power deals with two firms approved

---

FE Report
The government Thursday approved signing of unsolicited deals with two private firms to generate around 300 megawatts (mw) of electricity and inked initial contracts with three more companies for generation of further 300 mw under a similar move.
The cabinet committee on government purchase, with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair, approved signing of two deals with British Aggreko and another with local Desh Energy to set up three diesel-run power plants having 100 mw capacity each.
Aggreko will set up two 100 mw rental plants at Khulna and Ghorashal and sell output at Tk 14.390 per unit ((1 kilowatt-hour) to the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
While, Desh Energy would set up one 100 mw diesel-run plant in northern region and sell electricity to the BPDB at Tk 13.33 per unit.
Both the companies will initiate generation of electricity within three months of the final deals to be signed shortly, a senior BPDB official said.
Under the initial contracts signed on Thursday Summit Power Ltd, Khulna Power Company Ltd and Integral Energy will build three power plants having 100 mw capacity each respectively at Madanganj, Khulna and Kodda.
All the three power plants will initiate electricity generation within nine months of signing deals and continue supplying electricity to the national grid for the next five years.
The duration of deals might be extended further on mutual agreement.
Summit Power will build the Madanganj rental power plant to generate upto 117 mw of electricity and sell the output to the BPDB at Tk 7.96 per unit (1 kilowatt-hour).
Khulna Power Company Ltd, which is jointly owned by Summit Group and United Group, will set up a 105-mw-rental plant at Khulna and sell electricity at Tk 7.80 per unit.
Integral Energy will set up one 100 mw rental plant at Kodda and sell its output at Tk 7.83
The government is moving fast with signing unsolicited deals to generate electricity from oil-run power plants as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the minister for power, gave a go ahead signal to generate around 1200 mw of electricity under similar unsolicited deals.
The BPDB has planned to sign initial deals with several more companies aiming to ease the electricity crisis from next year.
State-owned Dhaka Electricity Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) and several private firms are among others interested to generate electricity under the government's latest initiative.
The country is now reeling from acute electricity shortfall as the overall generation is hovering around 4000 mw against the demand for over 5500 mw.
The power ministry last month amended the 'Policy Guidelines for Enhancement of Private Participation in the Power Sector, 2008' allowing building power plants by local and foreign firms on unsolicited proposals avoiding tendering process in an unprecedented move to face the country's worst-ever power crisis.