A Revolution Continues in Rural Bangladesh

Few understood that a USAID funded feasibility study in 1976 would be the seed of a “socio-economic revolution” in rural Bangladesh that continues to escalate day by day. Access to electricity is bringing positive change to the lives of millions of rural people. 

Acting on recommendations made in that 1976 study conducted by NRECA & Gilbert Commonwealth of the USA, the Rural Electrification Board (REB) was established by the Bangladesh Government as a semi autonomous agency under a Presidential Ordinance in October1977 and entrusted with the responsibility to electrify the rural areas across Bangladesh.  From that humble beginning, the Bangladesh RE Program has evolved into a successful infrastructure development program that is considered a model for other countries, many of whom have visited Bangladesh to see and learn first hand what has been accomplished.  Based on an approach that is patterned after the RE Program in the USA, individual electric distribution cooperatives/societies (called Palli Bidyut Samities – PBSs) were established under the direction of the REB.  Bangladesh now has 70 PBSs delivering electric service to more than 7.4 million meters bringing the benefits of electricity to more than 40 million people.

Since inception, NRECA has served as the consultant to REB and the PBSs, working in partnership to address the needs associated with the ongoing development of such a vast program through funding primarily provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  NRECA’s recent technical assistance has focused on initiatives related to the use of new technologies (GIS, engineering analysis, IT solutions) to help address the challenges associated with rapid increases in demand, numbers of consumers, expanding distribution networks, as well as shortages in power supply.  The current technical assistance through USAID with funding provided from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the U.K includes efforts to improve the technical aspects of project selection, maintaining quality construction and ensuring procurement of quality equipment and materials.  Additional components focus on member education and the ongoing development of PBS Boards of Directors both of which focus on strengthening the PBS concept, a foundation for the overall RE Program.  Studies to assess the impact of having access to electricity are also being completed as part of this current project.

Stepping From Darkness into Daylight
(Rural Electric Magazine^©, March 2008)

Since NRECA International Programs first helped bring electricity to rural Bangladesh in south Asia more than 30 years ago, the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Program—modeled after its U.S. counterpart—now provides power to more than 40 million consumers, many of them farmers turning on lights for the first time.