The government has undertaken various multipurpose projects for generating electricity to bring all citizens under the power coverage by 2021, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.
She made this statement while replying to a question from treasury bench member MA Hannan in the House on Wednesday, reports BSS.
"We will be able to reach electricity to all households by 2021 through our coordinated programmes in the power and energy sector," said the PM.
Sheikh Hasina said the government has undertaken various plans to achieve electricity generation capacity up to 20,000 megawatt (MW) by 2021.
She said electricity generation has already reached 13,265MW by now from only 3,268MW in 2009.
"Currently, the country's 70% people have access to electricity," she said.
The prime minister informed the House that initiatives are now underway to construct 28 power plants with a capacity to generate 6,764MW electricity, while 17 more plants having 4,799MW capacity are ready for tender.
She said the government also has a plan to construct eight state-owned power plants with a generation capacity of 7,085MW electricity.
"We have taken on another plan to produce 11,170MW coal-fired electricity in the country," Sheikh Hasina told the House.
She said the number of beneficiaries having access to electricity has risen to 11.68 crore from 5.94 crore in 2006.
"The government has provided new power connections to 3,04,839 in the rural electrification areas only in May 2015 and the number of people with access to power is 18 lakh in only one month," Sheikh Hasina added.
Replying to a supplementary question, Sheikh Hasina said the government has introduced prepaid meters to avoid ghost bills along with reducing unauthorised connections.
"We have produced 7,815MW electricity, the highest level of generation in the country against the demand, and constructed 70 power plants during the last regime," she added.
