Power Generation Halts at Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant

Electricity generation has completely shut down across all three units of the 525-megawatt coal-fired Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Parbatipur due to severe technical glitches. The 125 MW Unit 1 was forced offline on Monday morning after a fire incident, while the 275 MW Unit 3 tripped on Tuesday due to mechanical failures. The 125 MW Unit 2 has remained out of service since November 2020, and officials estimate repairing it would cost around 500 crore BDT, an amount comparable to building a new unit.

The total shutdown has triggered severe power outages across eight districts in the northern region. Before the breakdown, Unit 3 supplied 160–170 MW to the national grid daily using 2,500 metric tons of coal, while Unit 1 contributed 50–60 MW using 1,000 metric tons of coal per day.

Unit 3 had only recently resumed generation on May 19 after a six-month shutdown, following maintenance work costing 4.4 million USD (approximately 53.82 crore BDT). Plant sources note that recurring breakdowns stem from substandard equipment and reliance on cheap technology installed by the Chinese firm Harbin, which leaves local engineers unable to run the plant independently without recurrent costly repairs.

With the current Aman cultivation season underway and the power-intensive Boro irrigation season approaching, the prolonged blackout threatens local agriculture and heavy industries.

Engineers from the Chinese contractor Harbin are currently working to repair the faults, though plant authorities have not provided a timeline for resumption. Engineer Md. Abu Bakkar Siddique of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant stated that technical teams are actively working to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.