Photo : BSS

DINAJPUR, Aug 15, 2026 (BSS) - Unit 1 of the Barapukuria Coal-Fired Thermal 
Power Plant in Dinajpur resumed electricity generation today, a day after it 
was shut down due to a mechanical fault.

The unit was restarted at 2.23pm on Saturday and has been supplying 55 
megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid since then, said Abu Bakar 
Siddique, chief engineer of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant.

Following successful testing, the unit resumed full-scale generation, 
enabling electricity to be supplied to the national grid from around 2.30pm.

The 125MW-capacity Unit 1 had been supplying around 50MW to the national grid 
before it suddenly developed a mechanical fault on Friday morning, forcing 
the authorities to suspend generation.

Meanwhile, Unit 3 of the power plant remains operational. The 275MW-capacity 
unit is currently generating around 170MW and supplying it to the national 
grid.

Unit 2, however, has remained out of operation since 2020. Power plant 
authorities said initiatives have been taken to bring the unit back into 
service. They expressed hope that restarting Unit 2 would help ease the 
country's electricity shortage considerably.

With the resumption of Unit 1, electricity supplied to the national grid from 
the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant has increased. Officials and engineers 
said the plant's overall power generation is expected to improve further in 
the coming days.