11.41 lakh people to get quality power service thru first smart grid project

As many as 1,141,000 people will benefit from a significant improvement in the quality of electricity service through the country's first-ever smart grid project initiated by the DPDC, experts have said.

In addition, the smart grid project, which is now in its first phases, will help fight climate change by preventing an accumulated 104,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year, experts said at a seminar, titled "Towards Power Distribution Revolution Smart Grid Technologies and Its Applications", at Buet on 7 June.

The seminar was organised by the DPDC with the motto "Smart Grid Solution: Empowering the Future of Power Distribution", as a part of a sub-project under the "Construction and Augmentation of Substation Installation of Capacitor Bank and Introduction of Smart Grid in Power System under DPDC Areas (CSCSG)" project, aiming at discovering the endless possibilities of smarter energy future, and spreading knowledge and skills to empower the power sector through smart grid. 

Buet VC Prof Dr Satya Prasad Majumder was the chief guest at the seminar attended by 300 participants.

"Smart Grid is the first initiative of Smart Bangladesh, so we have to move on with innovations and skilled manpower as energy is the source of the country's economic growth today," CSCSG Project Director Abdul Alim and DPDC Managing Director Engr Bikash Dewan, who attended the seminar as special guests, mentioned.

This seminar will create awareness on smart grid among the next generation talents to get them into this revolutionary journey to make the country smarter, they said. 

The CSCSG project is initiated by the Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC), and co-funded by the European Union (EU) and AFD.

The seminar was facilitated by the project implementing partner, US-based consultant firm NKSoft Corporation, and moderated by Farjana Yesmin Asha, director of its Global Communication. 

Shakhawat John Chowdhury, managing director of the NKSoft Corporation, delivered the keynote speech while the technical session was conducted by numerical protection relay and substation automation expert Engr Rafiqul Islam of the SCADA. 

EU representative Chiara Vidussi and AFD representative Thibaut HAMM also spoke at the seminar.