About BREB
HISTORY OF RURAL ELECTRIFICATION IN BANGLADESH
Development plans of Bangladesh has identified rural electrification as one of the major components of
overall infrastructure, implementation of which, it is held, can accelerate the pace of economic growth,
employment generation, alleviation of poverty and improve living standard. The electrification
program as carried out by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was mainly limited to urban
centers and at best to their peripheries. At that time, the Government of Bangladesh engaged two
consulting firms of USA to carry out a comprehensive feasibility study on rural electrification in
Bangladesh. The firms studied all related issues in depth and put forward recommendation towards a
sustainable and viable rural electrification program. In addition to the new institutional framework, the
study emphasized for Area Coverage and Co-operati
ve concept. It is against this backdrop, Rural
Electrification (REB) was created by the Government
of Bangladesh (GOB) in
late 1970's through REB
ordinance LI of 1977. The Board is a statutory Government organization primarily responsible for
implementing countrywide rural electrification. Since inception, BREB sets forth the following major objectives in implementing the rural
electrification program.
âĸ
Ensure peoples participation in policy formulation in a democratic way.
âĸ
Provide reliable and sustainable electricity
to the rural people at affordable price.
âĸ
Improve economic condition of the rural people by using electricity in agriculture,
cottage and agro based industry.
âĸ
Improve living condition of rural peoples.
âĸ
Bring about entire rural Bangladesh under RE program or an area coverage basis. To achieve the objectives of rural electrification program at the implementation level, the
Board established Palli Bidyut Samities (PBS) [which means Rural Electric Societies in
English Language] based on the model of Rural Electric Co-operatives in USA under the
universal principle of co-operative, democratic
decentralization and ownership of consumers. A PBS, which owns, operates and manages a rural distribution system within its area of
jurisdiction is an autonomous organization registered with REB. The member consumers
participate in policy making of PBS through el
ected representative to the PBS governing body
known as Board of Directors. Right from the establishment of a PBS, REB assists the PBSs with
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Initial organizational activities.
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Training of manpower.
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Operational and management activities.
âĸ
Procurement of funds.
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Providing liaison between Bangladesh Power
Development Board, Dhaka Electric
Supply Authority (Bulk power supplies) and other concerned Government and Non-
Government agencies.
âĸ
Conducting election of PBS. Central to the PBS system, the area coverage concept generally comprises 5-10 thanas having a
geographical area ranging between 1500-2000 sq. km. For each PBS load forecast is made for
the next 20 years based on detailed study and accordingly load centers are set up in order to
identify the location of the distribution Sub-Stations. The cost of the distribution system is
given on a thirty three years term loan to the PBSs with first eight years as grace period with an
interest rate of 3% per year. To maximize cons
umer welfare, the PBSs operate on the financial
principle of "No-loss & No-profit" basis. Rural electrification in a developing country like Bangladesh is a huge capital intensive
program. In order to ensure the mobilization of
fund and steady growth of the electrification
program REB had taken a pragmatic plan to implement the gigantic task by phases. REB
started functioning in early 1978 with the first project under the 1st phase undertaken for
establishment of 13 PBSs in different parts of the country. Over the last twenty six years, more
PBSs were organized in various phases which bri
ngs the current total at 70. The fifth phase of
the Rural Electrification program is now under implementation. REB plans to cover all the
village of Bangladesh by the year 2020 A.D. Rural electrification in Bangladesh is often view
ed as one of the most successful program and
has also been credited both in the country as
well as in international arena. Relatively low
System loss in the range of 15% and high rate of bill collection nearly 100% is the achievement
widely appreciated by the Development partners and International agencies. This has been
possible due to the unstinted and unflinching support that the Government of Bangladesh and
our development partners have placed in the oper
ation and philosophy of Rural Electrification. But given the huge task that lies ahead involving the total electrification of the country, there is
no room for complacency as yet. ROLE OF RE PROGRAM IN AGRICULTURE
The greatest result of Rural Electrification program has been achieved in the agricultural
sector. The use of electric pumps for irrigation
in the dry seasons (January-April) brought
revolution in the food production culture. Boro paddy produced in this dry period fully depends
on irrigation from surface or underground water. Hand driven tube wells proved to be
inadequate for large fields and diesel pumps ar
e too expensive source of water. Diesel pumps
need regular maintenance, skilled operators and mechanics are not readily available. This
method of irrigation lost popularity in course of time and farmers showed reluctance to use
diesel pumps. Comparatively cheap irrigation of land is provided by electric pumps which need
negligible maintenance. As a result, popularity of electric irrigation pumps among farmers of Bangladesh has grown up
in past years. With less than 2000 electric pumps in 1981-82 Fiscal Year, the number of pumps
come under electrification has increased tremendously exceeding 2,00,928 up to July, 2015. The role of Rural Electrification Board and GOB
in popularizing electric pumps in agricultural
sector was very important. Although tariff of
all other categories of consumers has gone up
over a period of time, tariff for irrigation consumpt
ion remains almost same for last five years. It enables the farmers to keep cost of producti
on low and price of produc
ts competitive in the
market. The followings are the main features of rural electrification in Bangladesh as on July, 2015. Number of PBSs organized
76
Number of PBSs oper
ating commercially
76
Number of district under the program
61
Number of Up-Zillas under the program
453
Number of villages electrified
54,232
