Hatiya to have 12-MW power plant by Dec

The government has taken a move to install a 12-megawatt (MW) diesel-fired power plant in Hatiya island in southeastern Bangladesh by December.
The Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources has already initiated work to select a private-sector sponsor to do the job.
"We are looking for a private-sector sponsor to relocate an operational 12 MW diesel-fired power plant from some other place to Hatiya," Mushtaq Muhammad, Member, planning and development, of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), told the FE on Sunday.
The Power Division and the BPDB are now negotiating with the interested power plant owners over tariff and other relevant issues.
Mr Mushtaq said the power plant will be set up at the centre of Hatiya island to ensure electricity for all there within this year. Currently, the BPDB has several 500-kilovolt (KV) units which generate around 2.0-3.0 MW of electricity to meet the local demand.
A good number of solar home systems are also in use there.
Once installed, the power plant is expected to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply in Hatiya island, said the BPDB official. Presently, there are around a dozen diesel-fired power plants in the country with a total generation capacity of around 1,000 MW.
But the BPDB keeps many of them shut or allow them to run below their capacity due to low demand for electricity from such plants and high generation cost.

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