‘Power lines to go below ground in Dhaka within 4 yrs’

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that power lines in Dhaka city will be undergrounded within the next four years.

He said, “Work is underway to make electricity wires underground in Dhanmondi area. Transparency and accountability of this sector will be further strengthened by integrating modern technology including smart grid, smart meter in power and energy management.”

The state minister said this while inaugurating the installation of a 5KW wind power project on Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) campus on Monday (November 23).

He said, “The government is giving various incentives for the expansion of renewable energy. Wind mapping has been done in nine places of the country from 2014 to 2017 for wind power generation. Considering the wind speed from 5.75 m/s to 6.25 m/s, 20,000 MW of electricity can be obtained from wind.”

Nasrul Hamid said the Dhaka North City Corporation has undertaken a 45-megawatt power generation project from waste. In Narayanganj, the proposal to purchase electricity from the 6 MW capacity waste generation power project is in the process of being sent to the concerned committee. Solar power has been approved for various stages of power generation of 1570.77 MW. Renewable energy is currently generating 650.32 MW of electricity, of which 416.39 MW for solar, 2.9 MW for wind and 230 MW for hydropower.

He expressed hope that by 2050 Bangladesh will show remarkable success in renewable energy.