Power generation at the Ashuganj Power Station Company plummeted on Friday after a fault in the national grid forced two of its largest units to shut down, resulting in a 550 MW deficit in the national supply.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:45 pm following a loud noise, which led to the 400MW (North) and 400MW (East) units tripping in succession. Consequently, the total output of the station – which has a capacity of nearly 1,500 MW – dropped to just 225MW.
Engineer Md Abdul Majid, executive director (Technical) of Ashuganj Power Station Company, confirmed that a technical glitch in the Ashuganj-Bhulta 400kV grid line triggered the shutdown shortly after 2:30pm.
“The units themselves remain functional, and we are currently investigating the cause of the grid line failure,” Majid told TIMES. He expressed optimism that the Ashuganj-Bhulta 400kV line would be repaired and the units restored to operation by tonight.
Prior to the incident, three of the station’s five active units were producing a total of 750 MW. However, the 400MW (North) and 400MW (East) units, which have a combined capacity of 800 MW, were only generating 550MW due to an ongoing shortage of gas.
The station’s overall production capacity has been significantly constrained for some period, with the 400MW (South) unit and a 50MW gas engine unit remaining out of service for a long duration due to the persistent gas crisis.
