Breaker Explosion Disrupts Power Supply in Noakhali

A fire broke out at the Chowmuhani grid substation in Begumganj, Noakhali, after a 33kV breaker exploded. The incident completely halted the 33kV power supply line from Chowmuhani to Maijdee, causing severe power outages in Maijdee and adjoining areas and leaving residents in extreme hardship.
According to Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Noakhali office sources, the breaker on the 33kV line supplying power to the district town exploded suddenly at around 7pm on Friday. The breaker caught fire, while two transformers and other equipment were also damaged. Power supply to Maijdee and surrounding areas was temporarily cut off.
A BPDB technical team immediately began repairing the damaged breaker and arranging a replacement. As an alternative, around 9 megawatts of electricity was supplied from the Datterhat substation. However, this is less than half of the city’s demand.
According to the Executive Engineer’s Office, evening electricity demand in BPDB-covered areas of Maijdee is 35–36MW. Only 9MW was supplied on Friday night. Authorities therefore decided to supply electricity to different areas on an hourly rotational basis until the damaged breaker is restored. One part of the city will receive electricity for an hour while another remains without supply, with the areas changing the following hour.
Mr. Rafique, a resident of Laxminarayanpur, said power supply to his area was cut off around 7pm on Friday and restored at around midnight. It went out again less than an hour later. Electricity continued to come and go several times throughout the night and into Saturday morning. He said residents could not sleep properly because of the power shortage.
BPDB Noakhali Executive Engineer Mr. Habibul Bahar said the breaker explosion had disrupted normal power supply. Some electricity was being supplied to the district town through an alternative arrangement, while work was underway continuously to repair the damaged breaker and other equipment and restore normal supply.
He said the temporary power outages would continue until permanent repairs were completed. The power department expressed regret to consumers for the unexpected situation.