Burton made it three wins in a row as they put a big dent in Barnsley's promotion push.
Jamie Allen gave the Brewers an early lead but a thrilling game burst into life with three goals in the final 10 minutes, as Liam Boyce and Marcus Harness scored either side of a Cauley Woodrow penalty to seal victory.
Allen was on the spot in just the fifth minute to prod home his eighth goal of the season when Scott Fraser's low shot was spilled by Barnsley goalkeeper Adam Davies.
Boyce missed a glorious chance just two minutes into the second half when he was guilty of only finding the waiting hands of Davies after trying to dink him when straight through on goal.
But the Northern Irishman had a second chance one-on-one with Davies on 81 minutes and this time he made no mistake, drilling home from just outside the box.
Woodrow halved the deficit from the penalty spot on 85 minutes, after Jake Buxton had been penalised for a high boot, but Harness secured the points for Burton with a minute of normal time remaining when Boyce found him unmarked in the centre.
Match report supplied by the Press Association.
