A Study Tour to United Power Generation & Distribution Company Ltd. by the students of “Power Stations” course of EEE Department

Thursday 19 June 2014 The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) undertook a study tour on April 19, 2014 to UPGD, Dhaka EPZ, Savar, Dhaka. United Power Generation & Distribution Company Ltd. (UPGD) is the first and only commercial IPP in Bangladesh till to date, dedicated to provide uninterrupted and quality power to the export processing industries. UPGD DEPZ power plant consists of Four (4) Wärtsilä Finland 20V34SG each having capacity of 8.73 MW & 3 MTU Germany AOE20V4000L62 engines each having a capacity of 2 MW and Five (5) units of Rolls-Royce Norway B35:40V20AG2 each having capacity of 9.34 MW. So, the total capacity is around 88 MW till to date. Aside from increased power generation capacity, UPGD has also installed Exhaust Gas Boilers (EGB) for the production of quality steam. 2 (Two) Units of Smoke Tube Vertical Type EGB has been installed to produce 8 tons/hour of steam. The generated steam is being supplied to industries within EPZ, further improving efficiency and ensuring optimum usage of supplied gas. UPGD has constructed multidisciplinary infrastructures like power generation, high voltage transmissions and distribution and high/low pressure gas pipelines for the station. On top of this unique achievement, UPGD has been regularly providing its surplus energy to the Rural Electrification Board (REB) of Bangladesh, thus lighting up thousands of homes across the nation. This has given UPGD the unique position of being the only commercial multi-utility provider in Bangladesh. The tour was organized for the students of Power Stations course and arranged by the course teachers Ms. Humaira Salmin and Mr. Taskin Jamal, Lecturers of EEE Dept. With the course teachers, another two faculty members Mr. Rakibul Hafiz, Lecturer, EEE Dept. and Mr. Mohammad Shafquatul Islam, Lecturer, EEE Dept. accompanied 35 enthusiastic students in the tour. On arrival, teachers and students were greeted by Mr. Md. Khairul Islam (Plant Manager). The students were then taken for the demonstration sessions to get introduced with the concepts of gas engine based power plant. They were demonstrated about the working principle of gas engines, description of the cycle, financial activities, mechanical system, load factor, operation and maintenance schedule, electricity supply system, plant safety etc. The students were divided into three groups and were then taken to visit the gas engine rooms, switching yard, gas yard, control room, radiator on the rooftop etc. places. It was a good learning experience for them to see the actual management operations too. Prof. Dr. ABM Siddique Hossain,Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Md. Abdur Rahman, Associate Professor and Director, Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Md. Abdul Mannan, Associate Professor and Head (undergraduate program), Mr. Rinku Basak, Assistant Professor and Head (graduate program) provided their continuous support for the arrangement of the tour. Department of EEE extends its profound thanks to the authority of United Power Generation and Distribution Ltd. for their support & hospitality, especially to Rear Admiral (Retd. )Bazlur Rahman (The CEO).