How Many Power Plants in Bangladesh

With achievements, challenges, and future aspirations, the power plants of Bangladesh have attracted our attention and have created remarkable strides in the power sector of this country. Developing power plants in a country means powering a nation. In this respect, being a developing nation in South Asia, Bangladesh is highly in need of focusing on its power generation sector. 

Table of Contents

• What is the Power Plant?
• What are the Sources of Power?
• Energy infrastructure of Bangladesh
• Classification of Power Plant in Bangladesh
• How many Power Plants in Bangladesh
• Challenges in Power Sector in Bangladesh

The conversion of energy available in different forms in nature into electrical energy is referred to as the generation of electrical energy. The greater the per capita consumption of energy in a country, the higher the standard of living of its people.

Knowing the Power Plant:

Bulk electric power is produced by special plants called generating stations or power plants, which are the assembly of equipment that produces and delivers mechanical and electrical energy. Major parts of the power sector include:

• Generation
• Transmission
• Distribution

That means the power sector is firstly driven and empowered by power generation. Different natural sources, such as pressure head of water, chemical energy of fuels, nuclear energy of radioactive substances, etc., are converted into electrical energy using suitable arrangements.

Sources of power:

Conventional Sources of Energy:

• Fuels (Solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels)
• Energy stored in water
• Nuclear energy.

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy:

• Solar energy
• Tidal power
• Wind energy
• Geo-thermal energy
• Bio-gas and bio-mass
• Magneto-hydro-dynamic (MHD) plant

Energy infrastructure of Bangladesh

Bangladesh has attained success in electrification, comparatively better than other developing nations. 99.5% of the total population is provided with electricity in 2023. As per  report of 2022, per capita electricity consumption was .596 MWh.

Classification of Power Plant in Bangladesh

Power sector of Bangladesh is categorized with diverse versatility. The classification of power plants in Bangladesh can be presented as follows:

1. Source of fuel
2. Technology
3. Ownership

According to fuel source:

1. Oil based power plant
2. Natural Gas based power plant- Bibiyana CCP, Ashuganj Power Station Company Ltd (APSCL)
3. Coal fired power plant-  Payra Thermal Power Plant (PTPP), Rampal Thermal Power Plant
4. Hydro- Kaptai (Karnaphuli) Hydroelectric Power Station
5. Solar, wind (Renewable)- Teknaf Solartech Energy Limited (TSEL), Cox’s Bazar Wind Farm (Khurushkul)
6. Power Import- Bheramara HVDC Back‑to‑Back Link.

According to Technology :

1. Simple Cycle (gas/oil): Used for quick-start or rental plants. (Karnafuli Gas Turbine Power Plant)
2. Solar PV Farms: Grid-tied projects. (Teknaf Solartech Energy Limited (TSEL))
3. Combined Cycle (gas + steam): Bibiyana Combined Cycle Power Plant. (High-efficiency plants)
4. Hydroelectric:  Kaptai (Karnaphuli) Hydroelectric Power Station (230 MW).
5. Supercritical Coal Plants: Payra 1320 MW Thermal Power Plant.

According to Ownership:

1. Public (Government-owned) Power Plants: APSCL, EGCB, NWPGCL. (Managed by BPDB (Bangladesh Power Development Board).
2. Private (IPP/RPP) Power Plants: Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Rental Power Plants (RPPs).
3. Joint Venture Power Plants: NTPC (India), China National Machinery, or Summit Power. (In collaboration with foreign companies mostly). 

Renewable Energy Power Plants:

Operational Solar Plants: Teknaf Solar Park – 20 MW, Feni Solar Plant – 50 MW, Mymensingh Solar – 30 MW .

Wind Projects: Cox’s Bazar and Kuakata (about 2-3 MW only) Limited deployment.

Off-grid Renewables: Over 6 million solar home systems (SHS) in rural areas.

Electricity Import from India

To stabilize peak-hour demand, Bangladesh imports  about 1160 MW from India.

•  West Bengal (Bheramara HVDC link): 500 MW.
• Adani’s Godda power plant (Jharkhand, India): 500 MW.
• ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) Palatana Power Plant: 160 MW.

For enriching cross-border energy security and brotherhood with neighbor country, interconnections are planned and executed more.

Large-Scale Power Plants:

Payra Power Plant (Coal): It’s a joint project with China.

Location: Patuakhali

 Capacity: 1,320 MW (coal-fired)

Rampal Power Plant (Coal): It’s a controversial project due to proximity to Sundarbans

Location: Bagerhat

Capacity: 1,320 MW

Summit Bibiyana Power Company Limited (Gas): It utilizes high-efficiency combined cycle.

Location: Sylhet

Capacity: 1200+ MW (various phases)

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant: It’s the first nuclear plant with collaboration with Russia.

Location: Pabna

Capacity: 2,400 MW (when both units complete by 2026)

Kaptai Hydro Plant: It’s the Only hydroelectric plant, operational since 1962.

Location: Rangamati

Capacity: 230 MW

How Many Power Plants in Bangladesh?

Now, more than 150 power plants are utilizing the power sources and greater than 30,000 MW power is generated from these power plants.

Present Installed Generation Capacity (MW) as on 31^st May 2025

Public Sector	No of Power Plant	Installed Generation Capacity (MW)
BPDB	41	6,351
APSCL	5	1,394
EGCB	4	1032
NWPGCL	7	1,401
B-R Power gen	3	472
RPCL	3	182
CPGCBL	1	1150
Subtotal	64	11,982 (44%)
Joint Venture
BCPCL (JV of NWPGCL & CMC, China)	1	1,244
BIFPCL (JV of BPDB & NTPC, India)	1	1,234
Subtotal	2	2,478 (9%)
Private Sector
IPPs	62	9,999
SIPPs (BPDB)	0	0
SIPPs (REB)	3	130
15 YR. Rental	০	০
3/5 YR. Rental	0	00
Rental(No Electricity No Payment)	3	181
Subtotal	68	10,310 (37%)
Power Import
Bheramara HVDC		1,000
Tripura		160
Jarkhondo (India), Adani Power		1,496
Subtotal		2,656 (10%)
TOTAL	134	27,426*

 

*Including Captive Power, off grid Renewable Energy & Off grid HFO Total Installed Capacity (27,426+2,800+549+5) =30,780 MW

MAXIMUM DEMAND SERVED	16,603MW	10-05-2025
TRANSMISSION LINES (400 kV)	2,469Ckt. K.M	FY-2024
TRANSMISSION LINES (230 kV)	4,250Ckt. K.M	FY-2024
TRANSMISSION LINES (132 kV)	8,845Ckt. K.M	FY-2024
GRID SUB-STATION CAPACITY (400/230 kV)	10,255 MVA	FY-2024
GRID SUB-STATION CAPACITY (400/132 kV)	3,315 MVA	FY-2024
GRID SUB-STATION CAPACITY (230/132 kV)	16,975 MVA	FY-2024
GRID SUB-STATION CAPACITY (230/33 kV)	4,80 MVA	FY-2024
GRID SUB-STATION CAPACITY (132/33 kV)	33,245 MVA	FY-2024
DISTRIBUTION LINES (33 KV & BELOW) (only BPDB)	51,419 K.M	FY-2024
CONSUMER NUMBER (BPDB)	43,03,324	FY-2024

Source: https://bpdb.gov.bd/site/page/e7f4aaea-7605-4588-a705-e615c574cb88/-

Challenges in Power Sector in Bangladesh:

Though the number of power plants and the capacity are increasing day by day, Bangladesh's power sector experiences several critical challenges which affect directly or indirectly the efficiency and sustainability.

Overcapacity and Capacity Payments: Capacity sometimes exceeds demand by a substantial margin (around 61% reserve margin in May 2025). It gives birth to considerable "capacity payments" to idle power plants.

Fuel Security and Price Volatility: Volatile international fuel prices causes the increase in cost of electricity generation and enhances financial stress on utilities.

Slow Renewable Energy Adoption: The utilization of renewable energy deployment has been slower than desired. Inadequate budget and lack of incentives for private sector investment give hindrance to the proper growth of renewable energy plants.

Environmental Concerns: The limitation of natural source and their decarbonization, climate change etc. are the issues to be concerned.

Steps should be taken:

To smooth Bangladesh's journey in power generation and ensure sustainability and affordability, it is badly in need of:

Optimized Capacity Planning: More accurate demand forecasting and approach for mitigating must be focused on.

Aggressive Renewable Energy Integration: The recently approved Renewable Energy Policy (2025) setting targets of 20% and 30% electricity generation from renewables by 2030 and 2041 respectively needs fruitful implementation.

Fuel Diversification and Domestic Exploration Fossil fuel dependency should be reduced and more sources’ plans should be introduced.

Grid Modernization and Efficiency: Smart grid technologies, improving transmission and distribution networks to minimize losses, and enhancing operational efficiency.

Policy Consistency: Stable policy and deep concern in implementing it, is highly required.

However, energy security, cost control, and environmental sustainability are issues that are in center to give more attention. To transform from energy scarcity to surplus, upgrading the policies, strengthening infrastructure, and implementation of the strategies are the driving force and weapons that can bridge to the supply with demand and renewable energy utilization technology, skilled engineers and manpower are the magical tools to turn Bangladesh as a smart, green and modern country with energy surplus.

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