The year 2017 has arrived with a very good news for the nation that 10 power plants with generation capacity of 1,840 MW are expected to be commissioned this year.“To materialize Vision 2021, the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has undertaken realistic initiatives to make the country self-reliant in power production,” Director General (DG) of Power Cell under Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Engineer Mohammad Hossain told BSS.He said some 10 power plants including eight from the public sector with generation capacity of 1,623 MW and two private plants with generation capacity of 217 MW are expected to be commissioned in 2017.The government already installed 81 power plants with generation capacity of 10,353 MW during the last eight years and brought 78 percent people of the country under electricity coverage, Hossain said.“The government under the bold and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina increased power generation capacity to 15,295 MW from 4,942 MW and per capita power generation capacity now reached to 407 kwh,” the DG said.A senior official said the government is constructing eight power plants with 1,623 MW. Of which, Shajibazar having capacity of 110 MW and Bheramara 414 MW in March 2017, Ashujonj 381, Chapainawabganj 104 MW and Ghorasal 254 MW in June 2017, Siddirganj 135 MW in August, Sirajganj 150 MW in September and Shikalbaha 75 MW would go for commission in October 2017.Besides, Kamlaghat with 54 MW capacity and Kusiara with 163 MW capacity would come to operation in June and July respectively from the private sector, he said.The official, however, said that the government made a forecast about the country’s electricity demand at 18,800 MW in 2021, while it targeted to install power plants with 24,000 MW capacity during Vision-2021.The government is to bring 465 upozilas out of 486 under power coverage by 2018 to fulfill its commitment to bring all people under electricity facilities by 2021.The number of electricity users reached to 2,32,00000, while the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) made a commitment to provide 30 lakh new electricity connections by 2016-17, as it provided power connections to 30 lakh houses in 2015-16, the official said.He said the government augmented generation of power, expanded transmission lines, distribution lines and improved capacity of other sectors to further raise the economic growth up to Bangladesh`s becoming a middle income country by 2021.Source: BSS