100% electricity coverage by 2018: Minister

The government is working relentlessly to bring all citizens under 100 percent electricity coverage by this year, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told the parliament today.

In reply to lawmakers’ queries, he said, the government has planned to supply electricity to off-grid areas through solar power so that all people would get power by this year.

The state minister also said the government has provided 18 lakh electricity connections across the country during the current fiscal.

In reply to another scripted answer, Nasrul said the government has signed agreements for setting up 144 power plants having 21,659 megawatt (MW) generation capacity in the country from 2009 to 2017.

"Since assuming to power the present government has already constructed 88 power plants having 8,819 MW generation capacity due to taking time befitting, realistic, sustainable planning," he said.

The state minister said some 47 power plants having 13,771 MW generation capacity are under construction and those would enter into operation in phases from 2018 to 2024.

"Some 30 power plants with 5,092 MW generation capacity are under tender process. The plants would come to production from 2018 to 2022 in phases, while 19 plants with 20,732 MW are under planning," he informed the House.

Besides, activities for importing 2,336 MW electricity from three places of India, on the basis of regional cooperation underway, which would begin import from 2018 to 2022, Nasrul added.

In reply to another query, Nasrul informed the parliament that the government has no plan to resume new gas connection to the household within 2018.

“Now the demand for natural gas is higher than supply and alternative energy is available, so fresh gas connection to the household has been kept suspended,” he said.

The government is encouraging Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) using instead of pipeline gas supply for the residential sector, he added.