As reported by this daily on Friday, the government of Bangladesh and the World Bank on Wednesday signed a $515 million financing agreement to help 9 million people get access to reliable electric supply while transitioning to clean energy. The Electricity Distribution Modernization Program will support the digitization and modernization of 25 rural electric cooperatives or Palli Bidyut Samitis in Dhaka and Mymensingh Division and reduce electricity system losses by over 2 per cent. It is envisaged that the program will increase Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board’s (BREB) delivery of electricity by 6,790 GWh while improving climate resilience of the electricity system.
The incumbent government has developed the power sector in a planned way addressing it as one of the most essential sectors for sustainable development of the country. We appreciate the efforts of the government to supply electricity to every corner of the country. The entire population now have access to electricity. Over the last ten years country’s power generation capacity has increased by five-fold but still the problems of power outages, low-voltage and load-shedding persist in some areas due to limitations in power transmission and distribution systems.
Authorities concerned should
gear up measures to supply
uninterrupted electricity at specific
voltages and frequencies
The power situation has improved in big cities including Dhaka but load shedding is happening in District, Upazila and village areas due to limitation of transmission and distribution system. Therefore, focus should be given on improving the power distribution and transmission system in villages instead of increasing generation capacity. Authorities concerned should gear up measures to supply uninterrupted electricity at specific voltages and frequencies.
Use of renewable energy in Bangladesh has been negligible over the last few years. Reportedly, renewable energy contributes approximately 4 per cent to the country's national energy power mix. Therefore, focus should be given on formulating new policies to increase the production and consumption of renewable energy to ensure environment-friendly energy production.
The efforts of the government to improve country’s power sector set an example for our future leaders. In order make the country self-reliant in power generation, it will be important to keep the pace of development in power sector unhindered.
