Coal shortage threatens power production at Barapukuria


FE ONLINE DESK | Published: August 02, 2022 12:12:00 | Updated: August 02, 2022 18:20:10


Coal shortage threatens power production at Barapukuria

Production at the coal-based Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Dinajpur will totally stop anytime soon due to a fuel shortage.

Only one of the three units of the plant is operational now, producing 275 megawatts of electricity, the plant’s Chief Engineer Wazed Ali Sarker said on Monday.

The plant has been running on its stocks of fuel after the Barapukuria Coal Mine suspended operations on May 1, reports bdnews24.com.

The authorities resumed experimental mining through a new well on Jul 27, but halted the operations again after three more days as dozens of workers caught COVID-19.

Now the power plant is running out of its stocks, said Wazed.

“The only unit in operation now will cease producing power due to a coal shortage anytime if we cannot extract coal from the mine.”

The entire electricity produced by the 525 MW plant goes to the national grid, which means a closure of the plant will hamper supply while the authorities are already grappling to manage rolling power outages to save costly fuel.

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