Frequent power outages add to water crisis

Acute crisis of water following frequent power outages force people, left, to wait in long queue for water defying the scorching sun at Enayet Bazar in the city while children, right, form a human chain in front of Chittagong Press Club on Saturday demanding uninterrupted power supply. Consumers' Rights Protection Committee (CRPC) organised the human chain. PHOTO: Zobaer Hossain Sikder

Besides, the power situation is feared to deteriorate further in the city with the water level of Kaptai Lake dropping to a record low.

Frequent power outages with an average daily loadshedding of around 250 megawatt has been wreaking havoc on city life side by side with hampering production in different industrial units, including the garments and the frozen foods sector, since April.

The port city experiences three to four hours of unscheduled loadshedding everyday.

Though the situation has marked some improvement since May 8 the loadshedding during the time ranged from 160MW to 180MW, said the sources.

It still causes the city dwellers to experience outage, on an average, for around two hours a day, complained the city dwellers.

The power crisis is causing unbearable sufferings to the city dwellers, particularly to the candidates of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations.

Meanwhile, the drastic fall in the water level at Kaptai Lake forced four units, out of five, of Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Plant to remain out of order since May 4.

The water level at Kaptai Lake was recorded at 68 MSL (Mean Sea Level) on May 4 and May 5 as against around 81.4 MSL required for normal functioning of all the units.

Fall of water level in the lake to 66 MSL can cause the entire plant of 210-MW hydroelectric project collapse completely, the plant experienced 27 years ago, said the PDB sources.

The water level in Kaptai, however, started rising since May 8 and it was recorded at 68.28MSL on May 14.

With this only Unit No. 2 of 50-MW capacity of the plant could produce 20 MW of power.

Besides, Unit 4 and 5 have been out of order since long. Of them, Unit No. 5 had began operation on an experimental basis before the lake water level started falling forcing the suspension of operation of Unit No. 1 and 3 as well.

With all other plants operational, 392 megawatt of power could be produced in Chittagong till filing of this report on Sunday. Raozan Unit-1 and Unit-2 generated 170 MW and 160 MW respectively, the lone functional unit of Kaptai plant supplied 20 MW, the 60-MW Shikalbaha Thermal Power Plant produced 40 MW, Shikalbaha Barge Mounted (28 MW 2 units) Plant delivered 20 MW power, said the sources.

They said the total generation of all the plants, if function with full capacity, was supposed to be 766 MW. But the plants could never function with full capacity due to frequent mechanical glitches.

Meanwhile, the frequent power outage also hampered the water production by Chittagong Wasa that provides only one third of the total demand of water for some over 35 lakh people in the port city.

With all its plants operating at full capacity, Chittagong Wasa has a capacity of producing a total of 180 Million Liter Per Day (MLD) of water, 36 per cent of the total demand of 500 MLD.

Of this, Mohra Water Treatment Plant produces 90 MLD of water while the rest 90 MLD can be produced by its 56 deep tube wells.

But, the power crisis forced the daily production of water to come down to as low as 155 MLD last month, said sources in Chittagong Wasa.

With a bit improvement in power supply, Chittagong Wasa, however, produces around 170 MLD to 175 MLD at present, sources said.

The power crisis also hampers distribution of Wasa water, said the sources.