The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded approximately $1.5 million grant to improve the reliability, affordability and resilience of Bangladesh’s electricity grid through smart grid infrastructure.
USTDA provided financial assistance to Power Cell, a policy and planning agency under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources of Bangladesh, according to a US embassy media statement issued Thursday.
“For USTDA, the grant we are signing is an important example of the climate-smart infrastructure projects we are looking to support,” Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally (Ret.), USTDA’s Acting Director was quoted in the statement.
“It has the potential to shape Bangladesh’s power grid, to make it more efficient and dynamic, and to create a stronger foundation for the integration of renewable energy solutions,” he continued.
USTDA’s assistance will provide a detailed roadmap with an investment and implementation schedule for using smart technologies to improve the grid in Bangladesh over the next ten years. Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group will carry out the assistance, the release added.
“Two-way communication brought about by a smart grid will allow us to generate and use power more intelligently and efficiently. Implementing a smart grid is, therefore, infrastructure development as potent as any bridge or flyover,” said Helen LaFave, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the US Embassy in Dhaka was quoted as saying in the media release.
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