After a three-day shutdown, the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in the Parbatipur Upazila of Dinajpur has resumed electricity production.
Unit-1 of the power plant went back into production at around 8:30pm on Thursday (12 September), said Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant Chief Engineer Md Abu Bakkar Siddique.
According to sources, the 125MW capacity Unit-1 was initiated at 5pm. on Thursday, though it began generating electricity at 8:32pm.
Currently, 60-65MW of electricity from this unit is being supplied to the national grid.
To keep the unit operational, it will require 800 to 900 metric tons of coal daily.
Chief Engineer Md Abu Bakkar Siddique stated that Unit-1 was restarted after seven days of repair work, and the power generated is now being supplied to the national grid.
He also mentioned that since November 2020, Unit 2, with a capacity of 125MW, has been inactive.
Meanwhile, Unit-3 was shut down on 9 September due to the failure of its electro-hydraulic oil pump.
Unit-1, an older component of the plant, was also taken offline for repairs on the night of 6 September.
After completing the necessary repairs, Unit-1 resumed production.
Citing the contractors, Siddique added that once machinery arrives from China, it is expected that Unit-3 will be back in operation within 15 days.
This unit previously generated 200 MW of electricity daily, which was supplied to the national grid.
The Barapukuria Coal-Fired Power Plant, with a total capacity of 525MW, is operated by the Chinese contractor Harbin International using coal from the Barapukuria mine.
Under a five-year contract, the company's tenure is scheduled to end next year.
