US trade agency provides $1.5mn grant to energy ministry’s power cell

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) today awarded a nearly $1.5 million (Tk 12.9 crore) technical assistance grant to the Power Cell of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, to help improve the reliability, affordability, and resiliency of Bangladesh's electricity grid through smart grid infrastructure.

"For USTDA, the grant we are signing is an important example of the climate-smart infrastructure projects we are looking to support," said USTDA acting director Vinai Thummalapally, also a former ambassador, in a statement today.

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"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," read the statement.

USTDA's assistance will provide a detailed roadmap that will provide an investment and implementation schedule for using smart grid technologies to improve the grid in Bangladesh over the next ten years.

Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group will carry out the assistance.

"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, of the US Embassy in Dhaka.

Tis activity advances the goals of USTDA's Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure, which connects US industry to major clean transport and energy infrastructure projects in emerging markets.