Adani coal shortage cuts power supply to Bangladesh to 500-600MW
Supply from Adani Power’s Godda plant fell further after its 800MW Unit-1 tripped on 30 September
Power supply from Adani Power's Godda plant in India has fallen to around 500-600MW due to a coal shortage, with the situation worsening after its 800MW Unit-1 tripped yesterday (30 September).
Adani has informed the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) that it will take four days to bring the unit back online, according to a BPDB official.
"Power supply from the Adani power plant has reduced due to coal shortage. The shutdown of Unit-1 has further reduced the supply," Md Zahurul Islam, member (production) of BPDB, told The Business Standard.
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He said Adani had informed the BPDB that Unit-1 would take four days to return to operation from yesterday.
The plant's supply fell to 509MW at 1pm on 30 September and remained between 500MW and 600MW afterwards. At 6am today (1 October), the plant was supplying 504MW to Bangladesh.
According to the Power Grid Bangladesh (PGB) National Load Dispatch Centre, Adani's peak-hour supply stood at 834.14MW on 29 September, with PGB attributing the reduced supply to coal shortages.
On 28 September, the plant's highest supply was 822.58MW, against its 1,496MW availability factor. Before the coal shortage hit the plant, its peak-hour supply had been substantially higher, reaching 1,323.06MW on 27 September and 1,308.87MW on 26 September.
The reduced supply from Adani has added to pressure on the national grid as generation from several locally installed gas- and coal-fired power plants has also declined.
Load shedding crossed 2,000MW on both 29 and 30 September as supply from Adani and several other large independent power producers fell short of demand.
The Godda plant has two 800MW units and an installed capacity of 1,600MW. Bangladesh is supposed to receive power from the plant with a 1,496MW availability factor.
The plant has faced repeated disruptions in supplying electricity to Bangladesh in recent months, with coal availability and transportation problems affecting generation.
Earlier, Adani had reduced daytime generation amid difficulties transporting coal to the plant. The company informed Bangladesh that railway congestion and loading restrictions were affecting the movement of coal rakes to Godda, limiting generation during off-peak hours.
The latest disruption is compounded by the shutdown of the entire 800MW Unit-1. With the unit expected to remain offline for four days, supply from the plant could remain significantly below normal unless coal availability improves and the unit returns to operation as scheduled.
During the summer, when power demand remains high, supply from the Adani plant has become increasingly uncertain, with the company citing issues including weather, rail congestion and coal availability.
