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Bogura 22 MW (GBB Power) DFG Power Plant

Updated: Nov 8, 2023

Current Status: Retired


Bogura 22 MW Gas Power Plant, also known as GBB Bogura Rental Power Plant, was a reciprocating engine-based power plant situated in the BPDB compound, Puran Bogura under Bogura Sadar upazila in Bogura District of Bangladesh (Location: 24.8408, 89.3515). It was sponsored by GBB Power Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of GBB Group, as a Rental Power Plant (RPP) for 15 years. The sponsor declared its Commercial Operation Date (COD) on 17 June 2008 and, as per schedule, it was retired on 16 June 2023.


Capacity

The installed (gross) and derated (net) capacity of the power plant was 24 MW and 22 MW respectively.


Context

On October 17, 2006, GBBPL was established as a Private Limited Company in Bangladesh with the primary aim of constructing power plants under the Build-Own-Operate model to produce electricity. The intention was to sell this generated power to the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Commercial operations (COD) began on June 17, 2008 (GBBPL, 2018). GBB Power, founded in 2006, formed a joint venture with Caledonian Power to establish a power plant. The joint venture secured a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with BPDB, resulting in the construction of a 20 MW power plant in Bogura, which commenced its commercial operations in 2008. In 2012, GBB Power's subsidiary became publicly listed on the stock market. Despite attempting to obtain approval for the construction of additional power plants, the company faced challenges and was unsuccessful. According to company sources. On 16 June 2023, GBB Power ceased operations of its 20MW natural gas-fired power plant after being directed to do so by the Bangladesh Power Development Board following the expiration of a 15-year power purchase agreement. Nonetheless, the company has taken steps to request an extension of the electricity supply contract to the power division of the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources (MoPEMR). According to the company's filing on 18 June 2023, the application is currently being reviewed and considered (Financial Express, 2023).


Land acquisition

The estimated land area of the power plant is 0.93 acres ~ 1 acre (Calculated from Google Earth).


Finance

Bank Asia Ltd, alongside nine other banks provided a syndicated term loan of Tk 84 crore for GBB Power Ltd. The funds supported the establishment of a 20-MW power plant in Bogura, which was anticipated to cost around Tk 120 crore (Daily Star, 2007). During the nine months ending in March of the year 2023, the power plant experienced a 7.80% decrease in profits, amounting to Tk 81.50 million. The decline in earnings was primarily attributed to the increase in gas prices starting in January. As a result, the plant's gas expenses surged by 137%, reaching nearly Tk 131 million in the January-March period, significantly impacting the profits gained in the preceding two quarters (Financial Express, 2023).


Sponsors

GBB Power entered into a joint venture agreement with Caledonian Power Limited to set up a power plant. The joint venture entered into a PPA agreement with BPDB for 15 years (Business Standard, 2023).


Contractors

The company arranged Gas generator sets from Germany’s MWM (GBBPL, 2022).


Fuel Supply

The supply of gas for the power plant was provided by Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited (PGCL) (GBBPL, 2022).


Power Generation

The company ensured a continuous supply of electricity, delivering at least 21.03MW to BPDB's 33KV regional grid (GBBPL, 2018).


Capacity Charge

From 200 to 2023, this powerplant generated a total of 2310.85 gWh power which has cost a total of BDT 718.63 crore with a per unit cost of BDT 3.11. A total of BDT 350.93 crore of Capacity Charge was given to this powerplant.

Year

Generation (GWh)

Total Cost

Unit Cost

Capacity

​FY 2022-2023

0.00

BDT 0.00 crore

BDT 0.00

BDT 0.00 crore

FY 2021-2022

167.47

BDT 68.55 crore

BDT 4.09

​BDT 30.36 crore

FY 2020-2021

167.499

BDT 65.69 crore

BDT 3.92

BDT 28.97 crore

FY 2019-2020

133.17

BDT 57.98 crore

BDT 4.35

BDT 27.78 crore

FY 2018-2019

161.98

BDT 51.93 crore

BDT 3.21

BDT25.85 crore

FY 2017-2018

169.81

BDT 54.99 crore

BDT 3.24

BDT 6.95 crore

FY 2016-2017

173.5

BDT52.69 crore

BDT 3.04

BDT 26.25 crore

FY 2015-2016

176.90

BDT 51.72 crore

BDT 2.92

BDT 27.04 crore

FY 2014-2015

170.95

BDT 49.84 crore

BDT 2.92

BDT 24.67 crore

FY 2013-2014

165.52

BDT 48.09 crore

BDT 2.91

BDT 24.65 crore

FY 2012-2013

166.97

BDT 46.19 crore

BDT 2.77

BDT 23.69 crore

FY 2011-2012

165.36

BDT45.98 crore

BDT 2.78

BDT23.34 crore

FY 2010-2011

171.55

BDT 45.80 crore

BDT 2.67

BDT 22.46 crore

FY 2009-2010

149.75

BDT 40.14 crore

BDT 40.14

BDT 20.13 crore

FY 2008-2009

137.11

BDT 34.81 crore

BDT 2.54

BDT 18.05 3 crore

FY 2007-2008

33.31

BDT 4.22 crore

BDT 1.27

BDT 0.72 crore

Total

2,310.85

BDT 718.63 crore

BDT 3.11

BDT 350.93 crore

Environment

According to Section 12 of the 1995 Bangladesh Environment Protection Act, it is obligatory for industries, including those causing pollution like power plants, to undergo both an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as outlined in the 2017 Environmental Conservation Rules (MOLJPA 1995; MOEFCC 1997). However, there has been no instance of either an IEE or EIA report being conducted for the power plant until now.


Criticism

GBB Power Ltd. accumulated unsettled invoices totaling BDT 3.29 crore for the gas obtained from Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited (PGCL) between May and September of this current year. Although GBB Power Limited utilized gas valued at BDT 5.26 crore, including additional charges, during this period to generate electricity for the national power grid, the mentioned sum has not been cleared, as per insiders from PGCL's financial department (Daily Star, 2009). GBB is being fined BDT 4.35 crore in Bangladeshi currency and $640,000 for the delay in their 20MW Bogura rental project (Daily Star, 2009). The company once again failed to settle its outstanding payments, amounting to BDT 7.18 crore, for both gas consumption and Higher Heating Value (HHV) charges from Pashchimanchal Gas Company Ltd (PGCL). This non-payment situation constitutes a breach of the agreements between PGCL and GBB Power Ltd (Daily Star, 2010).


References


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