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Amnura 50 MW (Sinha) Dual Fuel Power Plant

  • 4 days ago
  • 5 min read

Current status: Retired

Image: Representational Photo ( Source: Bangladesh Post, 2022)


Amnura 50 MW Dual Fuel Power Plant, also known as Sinha Amnura Rental Power Plant, is a reciprocating engine-based power plant situated at Dargapara in Amnura under Nawabganj Sadar Upazila in Chapainawabganj District of Bangladesh (Location: 24.6321, 88.4015). It is sponsored by Sinha Power Generation Company Limited (SPGCL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Sinha-Medlar Group, as a Quick Rental Power Plant (QRPP) for three years. The sponsor declared its Commercial Operation Date (COD) on 13 January 2012, and according to schedule, it was to retire on 12 January 2015. However, the tenure was extended for over nine years, and the retirement date was rescheduled to 7 September 2024. As per latest update, the plant remained inactive after the expiration of its power purchase agreement in January 2022. According to BPDB records and the 2024 annual reporting framework, the plant was formally classified as retired on 03 December 2024 (BPDB, 2025) . 


Capacity

The power plant's installed (gross) and derated (net) capacity is 54.53 MW and 50 MW, respectively.


Context

Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with SPGCL on 15 July 2010 to generate power within nine months of the signing date (Daily Star, 2010). The power plant's scheduled Commercial Operation Date (COD) was 14 April 2011. It started commercial operation after an additional nine months.


The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) gave the license to SPGCL for generating 107 MW of electricity from HFO and HSD commercially on 26 April 2018 (BERC 2018).The tenure of PPA was to be completed in 2011. However, In 2017, the Power Division extended the tenure for five additional years under the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act (2010).


BPDB panelized the sponsor for failing to maintain COD, drawing excessive fuel, and supplying adequate electricity as per PPA. The sponsor filed a case against BPDB without paying any penalty. Nevertheless, in April 2017, BPDB recommended that the Power Division extend the tenure of the power plant for five additional years (Imtiaz, 2017).


On 5 July 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) extended the PPA for another five years, even after the completion of profitable tenure per KW tariff was fixed 11.166 BDT (Janakantha, 2017). On 11 March 2021, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MOPEMR) informed the parliament that it would not extend the tenure of any rental or quick rental power plant (DT, 2021). The power plant completed its last tenure of operation in January 2022 (Tuhin, 2021). On 7 September 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved a two-year contract extension for the Amnura 50 MW Sinha plant along with three other rental power plants (100 MW Julda, Chattagram, 50 MW Katakhali, Rajshahi  and 100 MW Keraniganj). The extension was approved under a new "No Power, No Payment" condition operators would receive no capacity payment under the new terms, only fuel cost plus a minimum operation and maintenance expense. This explains the rescheduled retirement date of 7 September 2024 mentioned in the document (Bangladesh Post, 2022).

The Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act, 2010, under which this and other rental power plant PPAs were extended, was repealed by the interim government of Bangladesh through an Ordinance in November 2024. The Advisory Council approved the draft ordinance on 20 November 2024 following a High Court ruling on 14 November 2024 that declared Sections 6(2) and 9 of the Act unconstitutional. The repeal preserved the validity of agreements already concluded under the Act (Business Standard, 2024).


Land Acquisition

Initially, SPGCL took 9.25 acres of land as a lease from BPDB for three years and extended the period five years.


Finance

Neither the sponsor nor the regulatory authority has disclosed any information on the equity or credit of the power plant.


Sponsor

Sinha Power Generation Company Limited (SPGCL) sponsored this power plant.


Contractors

Sinha Power Generation Company Limited (SPGCL) took the responsibility to establish this power plant.


Fuel Supply

The dual-fuel power plant runs primarily on Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and secondarily on High-Speed Diesel (HSD).


Power Generation

The power plant started commercial operation on 14 April 2011. According to the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), BPDB would buy the generated electricity at a rate of BDT 7.77 (USD 0.1094 when USD 1= BDT 71) per unit (kilowatt-hour) for three years from the COD (Daily, Star 2010). The rate increased to BDT 11.166 (USD 0.1379 when USD 1= BDT 81) for the next five years (Janakantha, 2017). Moreover it would increase more  (USD 1= BDT 110) as to date.



Environment

According to Section 12 of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is obligatory for any industry (MOLJPA 1995). The polluting industries, such as power plants, have to go through an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) and EIA as directed in the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997  (MOEFCC 1997). But, to date, no IEE or EIA report has been conducted for the power plant. This power plant has also extended its duration therefore the environmental impact of the powerplant will continue to surge with time.


Criticism

This power plant did not provide the expected electricity and stopped the generation of electricity before the expiry date. According to the environmental conservation rule 2023 the project falls in the “Orange” indicating it as a moderate harmful project for the environment (MOEFCC 2023). 


Capacity Charge

BPDB had to pay the sponsor USD 430 (BDT 30,530 when USD 1=BDT 71) as a daily capacity charge (Ali, 2020). Since its COD to June 2022, the power plant has taken BDT 580.51 crore from BPDB as the capacity charge.


Reference

 
 
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