The Unit-1 of Adani Power Jharkhand Limited (APJL) Godda, with a capacity of 717MW, went offline early Tuesday morning due to an operational fault in the stacker and coal feeding system. At the same time, two units of the Rampal Power Plant reduced supply by about 500MW because of a coal shortage.
Meanwhile, Unit-2 of the Matarbari plant, capable of generating 600MW, was shut down last Thursday following a boiler problem.
Officials confirmed that other coal-fired plants at Banshkhali, Payra, Patuakhali, and Barishal remain operational. However, the combined effect of technical failures and coal shortages has forced a supply cut of 1,800–2,000MW from coal-fired plants.
The strain comes amid a severe heatwave, which has driven up demand by an additional 700MW, according to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
APJL sources said Unit-1 was withdrawn at 07:22 BST, while Unit-2 is supplying 750MW against the plant’s total capacity of 1,435MW.
The crisis deepened after two coal-laden ships for Bangladesh-India joint venture Rampal became stranded at Akram Point on Sunday due to excessive siltation, sparking a dispute between the Power Division and the Shipping Ministry over dredging delays.
“We are suddenly facing multiple technical issues in coal-fired plants,” BPDB Chairman Rezaul Karim told Just Energy News. “The situation is compounded by extreme heat, which has pushed up demand by another 700MW.”
Karim said Rampal requires 12,000 metric tonnes of coal to operate at full capacity, but unloading was disrupted by rough seas in the Bay of Bengal.
Despite the setbacks, distribution companies managed to supply around 15,000MW against a demand of more than 16,000MW. To cope, the BPDB has asked the National Load Dispatch Centre to implement equal load-shedding across rural and urban areas, the chairman said.