Adani's shut unit resumes operation, Bangladesh to get power by noon

The unit of Adani Power's Godda power plant in Jharkhand, India, which was shut down due to a technical fault, has been restarted. As a result, hopes have arisen that power supply to Bangladesh will return to normal.

The plant's second unit was successfully restarted at 5:17am Bangladesh time on Sunday, September 13, ahead of schedule. Synchronisation of the unit with the national grid is expected to be completed by 11:30am the same day. It is hoped that power supply to Bangladesh will be restored by noon.

In a message on Sunday, Adani Power said the second unit of APL Godda was successfully restarted at 5:17am. The unit was made ready ahead of schedule. The message said synchronisation with the national grid is expected to be completed by 11:30am. As a result, power supply to Bangladesh will resume before noon.

Earlier, one of the two units of the Godda power plant suddenly shut down late on the night of September 11. Officials concerned said the 800 MW unit had to be shut down after a technical fault was detected in its boiler.

As a result, the plant's power generation decreased significantly, and supply to Bangladesh also dropped.

According to Power Grid Bangladesh data, before the unit broke down, the Godda plant was generating more than 1,400 MW. However, after the unit was shut down, power supply dropped below 750 MW. This put further pressure on the country's power system, which was already under pressure due to the fuel crisis, and load-shedding increased in various areas.

BPDB officials said repair work began immediately after the boiler fault was identified. Initially, it was thought that it might take at least 48 hours to restart the unit. However, as the repair was completed ahead of schedule, it was possible to return to generation quickly.

Earlier, the Godda power plant had been generating less power than its capacity since mid-August due to disruptions in coal transport.

Adani authorities had cited railway congestion, various restrictions on coal transport and heavy rainfall as reasons for the disrupted supply. This made it difficult to ensure the necessary coal stock at the plant.

However, as the situation improved somewhat towards the end of last month, the plant's generation began to increase gradually. Generation reached nearly 900 MW during the day and up to 1,200 MW in the evening.

Later, although it was possible to increase generation to more than 1,400 MW, one unit was shut down due to a boiler fault at that very time.

The Godda plant is currently one of the largest import sources in Bangladesh's power sector. The plant has the capacity to generate a total of 1,600 MW from its two units.

Those concerned hope that with the broken unit back in operation, power supply to the national grid will increase and the ongoing load-shedding will decrease somewhat.