RANGAMATI, July 14 (v7n): Continuous heavy monsoon rainfall and massive water inflows from upstream hills have fully revived electricity generation at Bangladesh's only hydroelectric facility. The Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station in Kaptai has boosted its total output to 222 megawatts (MW), operating all five generating units simultaneously after months of severe dry-season constraints.

Engineer Mahmud Hasan, Manager of the Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station, confirmed that a rapid rise in Kaptai Lake's water levels enabled engineers to bring the entire facility back online last week.

A precise breakdown from the control room indicates that all five generation systems are running close to absolute peak operational efficiency. Units 1 and 2 are currently contributing 46 MW each, Unit 3 is generating a steady 50 MW, while Units 4 and 5 are pumping out an additional 40 MW each to the national grid.

Control room officials stated that the reservoir's water level has surged to 102.25 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL) as of Tuesday morning. According to the standard seasonal rule curve, the expected water baseline for this specific week of the year is usually just 85.08 feet MSL.

This rapid, climate-driven volume expansion brings the lake exceptionally close to its maximum holding threshold of 108 feet MSL. Plant technicians are continually keeping a close watch on the reservoir's overall capacity as upstream mountain runoff continues to pour down.

For the past several months, critically low water baselines had severely crippled the facility, forcing engineers to run only one or two units at a time to conserve water. The sudden seasonal shift has entirely reversed that energy deficit, bringing vital baseload capacity back online.

Plant administrators noted that if the persistent monsoon rainfall continues across the Chittagong Hill Tracts, generation will scale up even further. This would allow the historic facility to safely maximize its capacity, pushing output to its upper limit between 230 MW and 242 MW.

Originally commissioned back in 1960, the iconic Karnafuli Hydroelectric Power Station remains completely dependent on natural environmental variables and water availability to function. When the lake maintains an optimal volume, it stands as one of the cleanest and most cost-effective power sources in Bangladesh.

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