Dinajpur, Bangladesh | April 23, 2026 — Power generation at the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in northern Bangladesh has come to a complete halt following a mechanical failure in its last operational unit, officials confirmed on Thursday.
According to the plant’s Chief Engineer, Abu Bakar Siddique, the shutdown occurred late Wednesday night when two of the four coal mills in Unit-1 malfunctioned. The failure forced the unit offline, bringing total electricity production at the facility to zero.
The plant, located in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur, has a total installed capacity of 525 megawatts (MW) across three units. However, Unit-2 (125 MW) has remained out of service since November 2020, while Unit-3 (275 MW) has been inactive since November 1 last year due to separate technical issues.
“With the latest breakdown in Unit-1, all units are now non-operational,” Siddique said. He added that the malfunction may have been caused by stone-mixed coal, which damaged the milling system. Repair work is currently underway, and authorities hope that Unit-1 will resume operations within two to three days.
Officials further indicated that efforts are ongoing to restore Unit-3 by mid-May, while discussions are underway with a Chinese contractor to bring Unit-2 back online. A four-member committee has been formed to expedite the process.
The complete shutdown of the Barapukuria plant raises concerns over power supply stability, especially as Bangladesh continues to face challenges in maintaining consistent electricity generation capacity.
