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Editorial

Growing power sector

A flurry of development to hit the country


Bangladeshpost
Published : 16 Dec 2019 08:00 PM | Updated : 06 Sep 2020 09:13 PM

It is encouraging to know that the government has set a target to generate more than 17,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2023. We are told that if the target is met, the country’s total net electricity generation capacity will be higher than demand. Gone are the days when round the clock power supply was more of a distant-dream to us. There was a time when six to eight hours of load-shedding during summer was a regular phenomenon in most of the towns of Bangladesh. Thousand of villages did not have access to electricity. But now, almost every family in the village has a smart phone. One can see children studying under the electric light, and villagers watching satellite television channels. This is how electricity has been reshaping thousands of villages as well as the villagers with the pillars of education and development.

As a part of ‘Vision 2021’ the government is working to provide power to every corner of the country. The country’s power sector has recently achieved a milestone by providing electricity to Sandwip through submarine cable. Where the grid power is not reachable, the electricity is being provided through the solar mini grid. The Power Division hopes every person of the country will be covered under the power facilities within the next couple of years.

We hope the incumbent government will be able to reach the target within the stipulated time and thus turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2041. The efforts of the government to improve country’s power sector set an example for our future leaders. 

Recognizing power and energy as the most essential sectors for sustainable development of the country, the government has attached highest importance to regional cooperation in power sector constructing power plants and grid lines in collaboration with the neighbouring countries as well as BIMSTEC nations. However, in order to make the country self-reliant in power generation, it will be important to keep the pace of development in power sector alive.