Mainland to islands: All areas now under electricity coverage

Nijhum Dwip, a small island of Hatiya upazila in the Bay of Bengal, is one of the most inaccessible locations in Bangladesh.

The island neither has any road connectivity with the mainland of the country nor any direct waterway links.

Utility services like gas, supplied water and electricity – basic services in the rest of the country – were unimaginable to the island residents.

Until this February.

Now, the impossible has finally become possible as the government has brought electricity to the island through a submarine cable system.

And not just Nijhum Dwip, the inhabitants of other remote islands and places – Sandwip, Monpura, Rangabali and Kutubdiya – also have come under the national grid as the government materialised 100% electricity across the country, said Md Habibur Rahman, secretary at the Power Division.

In 2009, when the current ruling party came into power, only 47% of the total population was under the coverage of the national grid.

"Among South Asian countries, only Bangladesh has achieved this milestone. Being financially and economically stronger than us, even our neighbouring country could not achieve such a milestone," he said while speaking at the Meet the Press organised by the Forum for Energy Reporters of Bangladesh (FERB) and the North West Power Generation Company (NWPGCL) on Monday.

"Initially, it seemed to be an impossible task," he said.

"Even residents of remote and marginalised regions cannot believe that they are getting grid electricity," he added.

At the event, Nasrul Hamid, the state minister of Power Energy and Mineral Resource, said to celebrate the 100% electrification achievement, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the country's largest and first ever Ultra-Supercritical coal plant at Payra of Patuakhali on 21 March.

Nasrul Hamid said since 2009 when the Awami League came to power, the power generation capacity has increased by five times in the country.

Back then, the total grid connected power generation capacity was around 4,900MW which has now reached 22,514MW.

Talking about oil prices in the global market and its domestic impact, Nasrul said the government was trying to stabilise the already strained fuel oil market with subsidies.

That, however, might change if the amount of losses increased further, he added.

"Although the market is under control as of yet, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is incurring a loss of Tk80 crore per day for selling fuel oil in the country at the previous rate, whereas fuel price has skyrocketed in the international market," he added.

Engr AM Khurshedul Alam, chief executive officer of NWPGCL, said that they had built Payra 1320MW within 37 months, which was the shortest time for such a big project.

A large part of the plant's capacity, however, lay unutilized due to lack of transmission lines. Alam said that by next April, 80-85% capacity of this plant could be utilised as an alternative transmission line was being made between Khulna and Jashore.

FERB Executive Director Rishan Nasrullah moderated the programme while its Chairman Shamim Jahangir chaired the meeting.

Among others, Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain, Engineer Md Mahbubur Rahman were also present at the event.