Rural Electricity and Distribution Project was approved by the World Bank (WB) in February 2014 with a goal to reduce system loss in rural areas of Bangladesh.
The project’s total budget of $600 million was signed to provide support and development of the existing lines in rural areas of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions. Only 42 percent of Bangladeshi rural households have grid electricity supply currently. These information came in through a release of WB on Monday.
Locations for 33/11kV substations have been identified and some of them have already been purchased. Technical supports for procurement of these substations are underway. Line materials procurement has been underway since the start of the project.
The WB release says that the project will improve the network of distribution systems across the rural areas. The power lines will be capable of carrying more electricity when power generation will increase in the country.
Electricity sells in the rural grids operated by the Palli Biddyut Samities (PBSs) increased 11.7 percent annually on an average over the last decade. Yet the consumers face frequent power losses.
Rural distribution and transmission systems have not been developed according to the growing power outputs. Thus, the systems were over-loaded and experienced frequent power cuts throughout the years.
The government and the WB targets for terminating system and technical losses through this project.
– Ittefaq Report
