Govt may extend Kumargaon 50MW rental power plant

The government may extend Kumargaon 50-megawatt gas-fired rental power plant in Sylhet by one more year to December 31 this year.

It will be the fourth time extension in favour of the power plant once extended.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will put the proposal before the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement for the approval on Wednesday, sources said.

The power plant, owned by Energy Prima Ltd, proposed for supplying the electricity to the BPDB for a year more as the existing agreement expired in January 2020.

To purchase the electricity from the private power plant, the government will have to spend Tk 1,195.26 crore from the public coffer, sources said.

“The government’s decision to buy electricity from the rental power plant is an anti-public interest project,” Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Energy Adviser Professor Shamsul Alam told Business Insider.

“It is nothing but a process of wastage of public money,” he said.

The CAB energy adviser also said people's wealth is being misappropriated by making laws in favour of the government. “Those who are involved in this cycle are the enemies of the people,” he said.

In 2008, the BPDB signed an agreement with Energy Prima to buy the electricity for a period of three years. The contract was extended three times to eight years. At present, the power plant is not in operation.

A total of 13 quick rental power plants with the capacity of 1,001MW are generating electricity across the country.