Power generation halted at Barapukuria plant after mechanical faults

Chief engineer says it will take at least a week to resume operations

Mechanical faults have completely halted electricity generation at the Barapukuria Thermal Power Station in Dinajpur, according to officials.

Chief Engineer Abu Bakar Siddique said on Sunday morning that a boiler pipe had burst, shutting down Unit 1.

After Unit 3 went offline, Unit 1 was supplying 50MW to the national grid.

Earlier, on the morning of Oct 16, Unit 3 had stopped production.

Siddique said four turbines of the governor valve’s steam sensor in Unit 3 were damaged.

“Both units are being restored, but it will take at least a week to resume full production,” he added.

The facility comprises three units with a combined production capacity of 525MW. Two units are rated at 125MW each, while the third can generate up to 275MW.

All three, however, have never been operational at the same time in the last 15 years.

Unit 2, one of the 125MW units, has been inactive since late 2020.

Until recently, Unit 3 was contributing between 170 and 180MW, while Unit 1 was delivering 50MW.

All electricity generated at Barapukuria feeds directly into the national grid. As a result, any disruption at the plant has a significant impact on Bangladesh’s overall power supply.