BE Magazine

18
In Bangladesh, domestic and industrial sectors
are the key power demand drivers, followed by
commercial and agriculture sectors. Electricity
consumption is rising in Bangladesh in line with rise
in production and coverage capacity. As demands
grow in consequence of accelerated economic growth
and structural transformation of the economy,
future demand for electricity in Bangladesh will
be changed. According to the Power Sector Master
electricity access, has registered significant growth
in terms of distribution network and sub-station
capacity. Various technological initiatives, including
Pre-paid Metering; Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP); Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA); and upgrade of Geographic Information
System (GIS) have been undertaken.
As mentioned in the Ease of Doing Business 2019
power & energy
Plan (PSMP) 2016, the structure and composition of
electricity demand will be changed with the changes
in economic activities.
Significant rise in demand is obvious in the industry
as well as commercial and public services, such as
special economic zones, metro rails and others. The
peak electricity demand, projected in PSMP 2016, is
to be 14,500 MW in 2021; 27,400 MW in 2030; and
51,000 MW in 2041.
Along with rise in power generation capacity,
the transmission sector has also gone through
significant capacity building. The focus has shifted to
higher voltage operating levels to reduce losses. The
distribution sector, with a clear focus on increasing
Report, the electricity supplier in Dhaka cut the
security deposit for a new connection by half and
undertook major investments to expand its staffing
and digitization of processes.
Bangladesh has set some key transition milestones
projected to be achieved over the next 20–25 years.
The key focus for investments is on capacity addition
across the generation, transmission and distribution
sector, along with infrastructural improvements by
adopting superior technology solutions.
The writer is a Mechanical Engineer with 26 years’
experience in energy sector. He can be reached at zahinul@
iesl.com.bd
Monthly business magazine
december, 2019