Excessive moisture in coal causes Tk 250m loss for power plant

High moisture content in the coal at the government's Barapukuria coal-fired thermal power plant has caused losses amount to Tk 250m.

Following media reports, the Barapukuria power plant authorities for the first time measured the moisture content in the coal procured between September and November last year from another government company, Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL). This was calculated to be 17 per cent. The authorities discovered that that coal they had purchased contained 15,000 tonnes of just water.

The power plant authorities calculated the losses, taking 10 per cent moisture acceptable. In face of criticism, the power ministry set a new standard of moisture level in coal. If the losses are calculated based on this new standard, the losses will go up further.

Taking moisture level 10 per cent as acceptable, extra water in the coal was 14,558 tonnes, costing 150 million taka. If it is calculated as per the new standard, the losses will rise to 250 million taka.

The power plant was launched in 2005. Energy expert professor M Shamsul Alam said the moisture level in coal was nearly the same over the past 13 years. If this is calculated, the amount of losses will be huge.

Chinese coal mining firm CMS extracts coals from the mine. Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Limited (BCMCL) then buys it from the Chinese firm and sells it to the power plant.

As per the contract between CMS and the coal company, the permissible level of moisture in coal will not exceed 5.1 per cent. If the coal holds more moisture than the acceptable level, no money was to be paid for that.

The power plant even has a modern laboratory to measure the moisture in coal, but mysteriously no one calculated the moisture level in coals in the 13 years.

This issue came to light after the power plant was shut down in 2017 due to shortage of coal. The coal company then sued 19 of its employees as nearly 150,000 tonnes of coals disappeared from the mine yard.

On 3 September 2018, Prothom Alo published a detailed report on moisture content in the coal. Following the report, on 5 September the company started calculating the moisture level in the coal.

On 4 March this year, the power division held a meeting on ‘adjusting bills for the extra moisture in the coals’. Presided over by senior power secretary Ahmed Kausar, the meeting revealed that the moisture level in the coal over the past three months was recorded 16.89 per cent which is high.

The power plant is also being affected as stones and iron content were mixed with the coal.

In the meeting it was decided that the coal extraction contractor, the coal supplier company and the power plant would together weigh the coal at the mine. The moisture would be measured at least twice a day. If moisture is over 5.1 per cent then the same amount would be deducted from the price. The weight of the stone and iron would also be adjusted. The power plant authority has been implementing these decisions since 1 April.

It is not clear why the power plant earlier said that 10 per cent moisture was acceptable, Badrul Imam, fuel expert and professor of geology at Dhaka University, told Prothom Alo.

A thorough investigation should be conducted, he added.

But the coal company is blaming the power plant authorities for buying excessively damp coal.

The power plant should have tested the moisture level, said managing director of the coal company Md Fazlur Rahman. They are only saying now that the level is high and this is not acceptable, he added.

Refuting this argument, professor M Shamsul Alam said the moisture would decrease steadily, so here is no scope for the moisture to increase unless it is soaked in rain. There was no rain during the three months, he added.

Chief chemist of the power plant, Md Azad, refrained from comment.

State minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid said the issue was being scrutinised and proper steps would be taken against those responsible.

In 2017, four probe committees were formed following discussions over the 'coal theft'.

Among these, only Petrobangla, the company in charge of the mine, submitted its investigation report.

The mine authorities did not reportedly keep a proper record of coal from the beginning. The report stated that the concerned officials at the time were responsible for this predicament.

A committee was formed, headed by the director of the prime minister's office (administration). Another committee was formed by the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC). Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) formed another one with prominent citizens.

Professor Shamsul Alam is a member of the probe committee. He said it was already proved that the moisture content was 12 per cent above the acceptable level.

CAB is now investigating who added the extra water to the coal and who were involved in the corruption of billions of taka, he added.

*This report appeared in Prothom Alo print edition has been rewritten in English by Nusrat Nowrin and Toriqul Islam