The Power Division has finalised its decision to make those seeking new electricity connections deposit a certain amount of money to a government fund for every new residential connections above two kilowatts of consumption.
The move is likely to be implemented after scrapping an existing rule for mandatory solar panel installations for new connections, while the deposited money would go to a special fund to develop renewable energy projects at off-grid areas.
State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid finalised the decision in a meeting with Power Division officials at the secretariat yesterday.
“Consumers will have to deposit Tk2,000 for each kilowatt [that accounts for 3% of total consumption] above 2kW on new connections,” Nasrul told the Dhaka Tribune.
Previously those who consumed more than 2kW, had to install solar panel to generate 3% of their own electricity. But from now on, the consumers would not need to install solar panels but pay the extra money for the 3% power generation, said a Power Division official.
“If someone wants to get a 100kW electricity load, he will have to pay Tk6,000. According to 3%, he had to produce 3kW, which would cost that money,” he said.
The money has to be deposited to the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda), which will use the fund to implement renewable energy-based projects for the deprived people living in the off-grid areas.
Since its formation in December 2012, Sreda has reportedly made little progress, despite its ambitious plans for producing 800MW of electricity sustainably by 2015.
The existing solar panel rule made it mandatory for consumers to install permanent rooftop panels at their holdings for getting new connections. In current market prices, the minimum cost of setting up such a panel is Tk50,000.
The Power Division will issue a new order for taking applications for new electricity connections against payment of extra amount.
A Power Division official, seeking anonymity, said instead of installing electricity generating permanent panels, many consumers set up rented panels on rooftops without laying the distribution lines. These window dressing panels, rented for small durations, are used to convince a section of government employees that the panels had actually been installed.
The Power Cell under the Power Division recently recommended the ministry to collect the money that the consumers were supposed to spend on installing solar panels as a precondition for getting new connections.
On January 21, 2014, the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) urged Nasrul Hamid – who was also a former president of REHAB – to scrap the solar panel installation requirement.
REHAB leaders claimed that the regulation had complicated things for their businesses because none of the owners were interested in bearing the financial burden of setting up solar panels.
