Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant Shut Down

The Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Dinajpur has completely ceased electricity generation after its remaining operational unit shut down on Sunday night due to a mechanical fault. This stoppage has raised concerns about increased load shedding across the northern region of Bangladesh.

As of Sunday night (October 19), all units of the 525 MW capacity plant are non-operational. The Unit 1, shut down Sunday night (October 19) after a tube burst in the boiler. It was generating 50 MW at the time of the fault, Unit 3 stopped operating last Thursday (October 16) due to a separate mechanical fault and Unit 2 has been non-operational since 2020.

Abu Bakr Siddique, Chief Engineer of the plant, confirmed the complete shutdown on Monday evening (October 20). He stated that Unit 1 is expected to be operational within the next week. However, Unit 3 has multiple problems and may take up to three months to get back online, with discussions underway with the Chinese manufacturer.

Md. Ashraful Islam Mondal, Chief Engineer (Operations) of NESCO Rangpur Region, warned that the loss of power from Barapukuria will create a short supply that must be compensated for by drawing from the National Grid. He cautioned that this reliance on other sources would likely result in low-voltage and un-quality electricity, leading to power problems in the region.

The plant's three units have a total capacity of 525 MW (Units 1 & 2 at 125 MW each, and Unit 3 at 275 MW).