Chinese company keen to convert rural overhead power line

The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the largest state-owned electricity utility company in China, is interested in financing and implementing the conversion of an overhead power distribution network of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) in Keraniganj, Dhaka.

The corporation sent a proposal to the BREB through a formal letter on October 29.

In terms of investment, construction and operation, SGCC is a leading company in the world. It covers 88 percent of the electricity distribution system in China. 

The Chinese agency wants to convert the 33kV/11kV/0.415 kV overhead distribution network of the Dhaka Palli Biddute Samite-4 of the BEREB into an underground network. 

SGCC noted that the project will help to modernise the electricity distribution system by increasing capacity and decreasing system loss. 

BREB Chairman Major General Moin Uddin (Ret) could not be reached for comment on the proposal.

However, the manager of Dhaka PBS-4, Mahbub Rahman, told The Business Standard that he has not received the proposal yet.

"It might have been submitted to the head office. We will be informed after the proposal evaluated," he said. 

This is the first initiative by the BREB to convert the overhead distribution lines into an underground network in the area. 

Currently, the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) is working on a project to convert the overhead electricity distribution network into an underground network in Dhaka and in Narayanganj, while the Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) is working to do the same in Gazipur.

As per the Power System Master Plan (PSMP)-2016, an underground distribution system is a must for uninterrupted power supply because an overhead system is susceptible to damage through natural causes.