A mechanical issue has resulted in the complete shutdown of production in three units of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Parbatipur, Dinajpur.

Md. Abu Bakkar Siddique, the chief engineer of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant, verified the information on Wednesday afternoon, February 19. The plant was previously shut down entirely starting in the afternoon of Tuesday, February 18.

Relevant sources state that coal is used to generate electricity at the Barapukuria thermal power plant. The three units have a combined 525 MW of power generation capacity. The combined power generation capacity of units 1 and 2 is 250 MW. Unit 3 is capable of producing 275 MW of power.

It is learned that unit 2 of the plant, which has a capacity of 125 MW, has been shut down since November 2020 due to a mechanical fault. Only units 1 and 3 were operational; from which about 230 MW of electricity was generated and added to the national grid. However, due to a mechanical fault, Unit No. 3 was shut down last Saturday. Only Unit No. 1 was operational. The boiler in that unit had a mechanical fault due to a leak. Later, on Tuesday afternoon, the only operational unit also shut down. As a result, the production activities of the three units of the power plant were completely stopped. There is a fear of power outage in the northern region.

Chief Engineer of Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant Md. Abu Bakkar Siddique told the media that on Tuesday afternoon, there was a leak in the boiler pipe of Unit No. 1, which has a capacity to generate 125 megawatts of electricity. The unit was later shut down. Earlier, Unit No. 3 was also shut down on Saturday for the same reason.

We hope to be able to get Unit No. 1 up and running within the next week, he added. In the next two weeks, Unit No. 3 will be operational.