82% people now getting electricity: Nasrul

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DHAKA, Dec 05, 2017 (BSS) – As high as 82 percent people of the country are now getting electricity from 47 percent in 2009 and the generation capacity has already been risen to 15,821 MW from 4,942 MW in 2009.

State Minister For Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid disclosed this while talking to BSS here yesterday. “The power generation capacity currently is more than triple from 4,942MW in 2009 to 15,821 MW in 2017 with 400,000 people getting connection every month,” he said.

He said the government is now in a position to reach its desired target of generating 24,000 MW by 2020, adding, “The government has set its target to bring all citizens under the electricity coverage by 2021 under the visionary and undaunted leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Nasrul said the power sector achieved tremendous success over the last three years, as a total of 1.18 crore subscribers have been given connection side by side with bringing 83 upazilas under 100 percent power facility.

“Bangladesh remains ahead of neighbouring countries in the overall development index. The average system loss in India is 23 percent, whereas the rate is only 12.19 percent in Bangladesh,” he added.

Official sources said with private participation in generating electricity, the government set its plan to generate power at 2,252 MW in 2018, 5,099 MW in 2019, 3,414 MW in 2020 and 4,269 MW in 2021.

Bangladesh has achieved the fastest growth rate of installing solar home systems in the world, at a rate of 70,000 systems every month. Over 3 million systems have already been installed with support from development partners, they said.

The government is working on setting up a nuclear power plant and a coal- based power plant to upgrade Bangladesh to a middle-income country within 2021. The government has given top priority to the development of the sector considering its importance in the overall development of the country.