Over 61 percent of power generation capacity achieved in eight years of AL: Hasina

Bangladesh has installed 13,596MW power plants since independence, with the Awami League accounting for more than 61 percent of electricity generation capacity in the last eight years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 21 June 2017, 09:55 AM
Updated : 21 June 2017, 10:51 AM

During Wednesday's parliament session, Hasina provided the figures, responding to a query by ruling MP Mamunur Rashid Kiron from Noakhali.

She said the existing power generation capacity, including the captive power plants, stands at 15,351MW.

Some old plants have been de-commissioned, but they are still able to supply 13,179MW to the national grid, the prime minister said in parliament.

Period

Installed plants' capacity (MW)

1972 to 1981

286

1982 to 1990

1,588

Mar 1991 to Mar 1996

588

Jun 1996 to Jul 2001

1,208

Oct 2001 to Oct 2006

1,240

Oct 2006 to Dec 2008

346

Jan 2009 to May 2017

8,340

Bangladesh's power generation capacity touched the 9,000MW mark for the first in June last year, according to the Power Development Board or PBD.

On May 27 this year, PDB reported electricity hitting an all-time high of 9,356MW. The projected demand, however, on that day was 9,800MW.

Officials say Bangladesh’s power generation capacity almost 2.5 times in the last eight years but demand outpaced supply. During summer, there's often a gap between demand and supply.

Around 80 percent of the population is now under grid-coverage, up from 47 percent in 2009, according to government data.

Hasina said on Wednesday that 34 more power plants with 11,363MW generation capacity were under construction -- 16 plants with 6,707MW by the government and 18 with 4,656MW by private companies.

She said the government expects them to go into production in phases from 2017 to 2021.

The process of inviting tenders for another 34 plants of 4,917MW capacity, both in public and private sectors, was underway, said Hasina.

The prime minister revealed plans for 11 more plants of 6,415MW and said efforts were on to import 500MW from India in July next year.

By 2023, the Rooppur nuclear power plant will be able to supply 1,200MW to the national grid and a further 1,200MW by 2024, according to Hasina.