100% power in 182 upazilas by Dec

The government is determined to ensure 100 percent electricity in 182 upazilas by December this year as a step towards fulfilling the Vision-2021 to turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country.

“The government is committed to supply electricity to every household and bring all the people under the power coverage by 2021,” State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told BSS here on Tuesday.

He said, currently 80 percent people are getting electricity and the power generation capacity reached to 15,389 MW, adding, “under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we will be able to bring 100 upazilas under the cent percent power coverage by June and the rest by December this year.”

Highlighting the steps taken by the present government to make the country self-reliant in power production, Nasrul said every upazila would come under hundred-percent electricity coverage by 2021 and the ministry has been working with the aim to build a “Sonar Bangla” as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“Government`s prudent decision to produce electricity has contributed to creating investment opportunity and rapid development in the country,” the state minister said.

According to the Rural Electrification Board (REB), the REB has taken initiatives to install 57 lakh prepaid metres by 2021 along with installation of Master Information Centre (MIC), while it made a commitment to provide 30 lakh new electricity connections by FY 2016-17, of which 59 lakh connections were done from July 2015 to January 2017.

Besides, the BREB has targeted to bring 460 upazilas under 100 percent electricity coverage by 2018, as it has been providing service to rural consumers for over 38 years.

The REB provided power connections and constructed transmission line through its 79-Palli Bidyut Samity across the country and the number of consumers 1.78 crore. It also fixed a target to bring system loss down to 11 percent.

Source: BSS