Production at Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant Completely Shut Down

The Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant, located in Parbatipur, Dinajpur, has halted electricity production after a rupture in the boiler tube of its 125 MW Unit 1. The shutdown has raised concerns over power supply shortages in the Rangpur division, as all three units with a total capacity of 525 MW are now offline.

The main engineer of the thermal plant, Abu Bakkar Siddique, confirmed the disruption, noting that the tube rupture in the boiler occurred around 11:15 AM on Sunday (January 18), halting production. Unit 1 had previously resumed operation on January 14 after being offline for 15 days, but it was shut down again just four days later.
 

The plant’s third unit, with a 275 MW capacity, has been out of service since November 1, 2023, due to mechanical issues, and the second unit has been non-operational since November 2020.

The plant’s engineers have stated that the boiler, which operates at nearly 1,000 degrees Celsius, will undergo repairs once it cools down. However, they could not provide an estimated time for the unit’s return to service. The unit is quite old and requires maintenance every five years; it has not undergone repairs for the last 20 years.

The Barapukuria plant depends on coal from the Barapukuria coal mine, operated by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Meanwhile, the Chinese contractor, Harbin International, is working to repair mechanical faults in the third unit. Once necessary parts arrive from China, it is expected that the third unit will resume operation, possibly by March. However, the second unit has been delayed due to high prices for replacement parts, with the Chinese contractor showing reluctance to proceed.

This series of setbacks leaves the Barapukuria plant entirely non-operational at the moment, raising alarms over power generation in the region.