Will delay in transmission line hinder Rooppur power plant operation?

The first unit of the Rooppur nuclear power plant is likely to start commercial production by the next year but the electricity will not reach Dhaka yet due to about two years' delay in the construction of the transmission lines.   

Six high-voltage transmission lines, including three crossing two mighty rivers, are being installed under the Rooppur Transmission Infrastructure Development project. So far, one-fifth work of the river sections could be completed.

The first unit is expected to become operational by December 2024 and the second unit by September 2025. Already, nuclear fuel from Russia is arriving in batches for the plant.  

Officials said the electricity from the first 1200MW unit of the two-unit 2400MW plant in the Pabna district can be added to the national grid even without completing the river-crossing lines.

Without the river crossing lines, electricity from the first unit of the Rooppur plant will not be able to reach the capital though Dhaka division alone has the demand for around 4000MW electricity, against the country's total supply of around 9500MW.

Instead, the electricity will be transmitted to Gopalganj and Bogura through two non-river crossing lines, which are nearing completion.

Officials from the Bangladesh Power Development Board said if necessary, power generated from the first unit can be transmitted to Dhaka via Gopalganj using existing lines.

The second unit is scheduled to start commercial production by September 2025 and if the river-crossing lines are not ready by that time, the operation of the second unit will have to be delayed, they added.

Md Habibur Rahman, senior secretary of the Power Division, told The Business Standard that all work on the transmission lines, except for the river section, will be completed by 2024.

"The electricity generated by the first unit will be transmitted via the non-river crossing lines, which are in the final stages of construction. All the lines, including the river-crossing ones, will be completed before the second unit goes into production in 2025," he said.

Officials from the state-owned Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB), the transmission line project's implementing agency, said the works got delayed due to complications over the tendering process for the river-crossing section — 20km in total.

The transmission line project began in 2018 and the Power Grid Company initially set a deadline of June 2021 but later extended it to December 2023.

The total physical progress of the project was 65% as of this September. The Power Grid Company has again decided to extend the project deadline by one more year till December 2024, according to project sources. 

But officials said it is likely to take more time, probably by the end of 2025, to complete the entire project. The cost may also go up.

When asked whether it would be possible to complete all the work by September 2025, the senior secretary said, "The work has to be completed within the stipulated time, and we will do it.

"We have improved the monitoring system to complete the work on time. An additional secretary of the power division has been given the task of supervising the work of implementing agencies, consulting firms, and contracting firms daily."

Contacted, Prof M Shamsul Alam, energy expert and senior vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said nuclear power plants are difficult to shut down once they start operations. So, once the power generation begins, it must continue.

"Besides, if the Rooppur nuclear plant cannot be fully operational, the cost will increase. The production cost of such a nuclear power plant is huge," said Prof Alam. 

On the issue of power transmission, he said, "If we decide to take electricity generated from the first unit to Gopalganj or Bogura, we have to first assess the power demand in those districts. 

"It is also necessary to ensure that the transmission lines are complete and ready to use before launching the commercial production at the plant. 

"It would not be wise to start the commercial production without building the entire transmission infrastructure, which was seen in the case of the Payra power plant." 

He added, "Similarly, the commercial power generations of the next units should be initiated only after the construction of the entire power utilisation infrastructure."

Complications over tender

The Tk10,982 crore transmission line project, containing eight packages, was undertaken to be implemented with Tk8,219 crore Indian loans and under the condition of the Indian Line of Credit (LoC) agreement that only Indian contractors can participate in the "limited tendering".

Md Mamun-Al-Rashid, a former secretary of the Planning Commission, told The Business Standard that a complex tendering process delayed the construction of the lines by two to three years.

"Approval from the Indian authorities is usually slow, especially during the tendering process. Besides, Indian contractors' high bids for the project's package-6, under which the river crossing lines, prompted the government to build this section with its own funding instead of the Indian Line of Credit. However, obtaining India's consent to this change took a long time," he said.

According to PGCB documents, three Indian firms offered higher bids for the project's river-crossing transmission lines. This limited tender was opened in June 2021.

As the price offered in the tender was higher than the estimate, the government decided to call an open tender on 23rd January 2022. Transrail Lighting Limited of India got the work after offering a lower-than-estimated price.

The river-crossing section's progress is below 20% while it is 80% for the rest of the lines, according to minutes of the 8th meeting of the project's steering committee.

Transmission lines and their work progress

According to the revised plan of PGCB, the 400kV Rooppur-Bogura transmission line is scheduled to be completed in December 2023, with 92.5% of the work completed as of September 2023.

The 400kV Rooppur-Gopalganj line is expected to be completed in May 2024, with 83.25% of the work completed.

The Rooppur-Dhaka (Aminbazar-Kaliakoir) 400kV transmission line is also targeted for completion by March 2024, with 80.75% of the work completed.

The same is the deadline for the 230kV Rooppur-Dhamrai line, which has seen 90% progress in construction work.

The Aminbazar-Kaliakoir 400kV transmission line is expected to be completed by December 2023, with 95.25% of the work completed.

The 230kV Rooppur-Baghabari line was completed in December 2022 and is currently being used to supply power to the Rooppur plant project. It can be used to evacuate power to the national grid once the plant is operational.

Three of these lines are river crossing lines. The 400kV Rooppur-Gopalganj line goes over River Padma, and the 400kV Rooppur-Dhaka line and the 230kV Rooppur-Dhamrai line over River Jamuna.