Electricity generation at the Barapukuria Thermal Power Plant in Dinajpur has come to a complete stop after its last operational unit ceased production at midnight on April 22. The 125-megawatt Unit 1 stopped functioning when stones mixed with coal caused a boiler pipe to burst, according to the plant’s chief engineer Abu Bakkar Siddique. The shutdown has disrupted power supply to the national grid.

Repair work is underway, and it may take four to five days to resume production. The plant’s other two units—one of 125 megawatts and another of 275 megawatts—had already been out of operation due to mechanical faults. The Barapukuria plant, built in 2006 beside the Barapukuria coal mine, was designed to produce 525 megawatts through three units but has never reached full capacity because of recurring technical issues.

The complete halt in production marks another setback for the coal-based facility, which has faced repeated operational interruptions over the years.