In a rejoinder, the PDB noted that due to "severe power crisis" prevailing in the country the government opted for power plants on rental basis as an "emergency" management of the situation.

It added that the price offers received so far from skid-mount bidders ranging from Tk 2.63/kwh to Tk 3.01/kwh "seem to be reasonable" in comparison with the rates of power purchased from existing simple cycle IPP projects, where the price is between Tk 3.50/kwh and Tk 3.8/kwh.

"Price for liquid fuel based power generated by PDB in the western grid is Tk 14.68/kwh while offered price for rental power at Thakurgaon is Tk 12.23/kwh.

"Rental power can only be compared with the simple cycle IPPs, not with the combined cycle IPPs. In our opinion, offered rates of rental power is much cheaper than the power purchased from simple cycle gas based IPPs."

OUR REPLY
The rejoinder only tried to justify power rental from skid-mount plants and did not contradict the fact that the PDB is going to incur colossal loss. The rejoinder claimed this scheme as an "emergency" measure, but it did not explain how the costly rental from skid-mount plants for a term of "15 years" can be an emergency measure.

The whole argument of comparing skid-mount plants with simple cycle IPPs falls flat on the premise of this 15 years' rental. Within 15 years, Bangladesh can have many combined cycle plants and generate much cheaper electricity. It does not need to pay high tariff from skid-mount plants for more than a year, because an "emergency situation" should not extend beyond a year.

The rejoinder also did not explain how this "severe power crisis" came to exist and who are responsible for this situation.