Voice 9, Dhaka Bureau: The first and second units of the three units of the Barapukuria coal-based 525MW power plant in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur were shut down earlier. The production of the third unit was also stopped due to a technical fault at 6:30 pm on Monday (September 9).
The unit used to generate 200 MW of electricity per day, which was being supplied to the national grid, said Md. Abu Bakr Siddiq.
Harbin International, a Chinese contractor, was operating the 525-megawatt Barapukuria coal-fired thermal power plant with coal produced from the Barapukuria mine. The five-year contract expires next year.
According to the contract, small repairs and parts were supposed to be provided to keep production running at this time, but the Chinese contractor did not do anything. Because of this, the power plant was repeatedly malfunctioning but could not be repaired properly. As a result, power generation has been disrupted, alleged the contractor.
Each of the three units of the Barapukuria Thermal Power Station requires two electro-hydraulic oil pumps to keep it running. Which keeps the production activities running by supplying oil as fuel to the unit. But since 2022, its production activities have been running with an electro-hydraulic oil pump as an alternative, risking closure at any time due to the failure of one pump in two of the three units. As a result, sometimes the production of thermal power plants was stopped due to mechanical faults.
When the contractor informed the company several times, they did not take it into account for unknown reasons. The third unit, which was last repaired on September 6, was restarted two days later on Monday evening, and all operations were stopped.
Chief Engineer of Barapukuria Coal-based Thermal Power Station Md. Abu Bakkar Siddique said there are two electro-hydraulic oil pumps for each unit. Which keeps the production activities running by supplying oil as fuel to the unit. But since 2022, one of the two pumps of the third unit has been destroyed. Since then, the production activities were being carried out with a risk through a pump. But it was not possible to start the pump even after a day-long effort after it broke down on Monday. As a result, the production was completely stopped.
Abu Bakkar Siddique added that the contractor has been informed about the matter. They asked for two weeks. The production will start as soon as the machine comes from China.
