The Power Division has sought a budgetary allocation of Tk 316.27 billion for the next fiscal year (FY), up by 47.39 per cent than that of the current fiscal.
If the allocation is made, it would be the highest one given to any sector under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the FY 2018-19, officials said.
In the current ADP, the division received Tk 214.58 billion in the original ADP for the current fiscal year 2017-18.
"We have sought the money as some large projects, especially on the power generation and transmission sub-sectors are being implemented to meet the growing demand for electricity," said a Power Division official.
He said the fund will be required as some big power plants and high-voltage transmission lines will be installed in the next FY.
The division sought over Tk 206.47 billion from internal resources and over Tk 109.80 billion worth of project aid, the data showed.
Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has been implementing 96 development projects in the current ADP for improving the electricity-supply situation in the country. Of them, 15 are new projects. Besides, two more projects have been approved recently.
A Power Division official said: "Since we need to enhance our power supply capacity along with higher generation target, we have taken necessary generation, transmission and distribution projects."
Nearly 30 per cent people of the country are still out of grid power supply as the government has yet to expand its distribution-and-transmission system across the country.
Power is one of the top priority sectors of the government as the country is struggling hard to overcome the shortage of electricity supply against its demand.
According to the power sector master plan 2010, the country's anticipated peak demand would be 17,304 MW in the FY 2020.
The government is committed to generating 24,000 MW of electricity by the FY 2021, requiring investment worth billions of dollars.
