State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has called on power sector entities to establish their own communication systems to ensure uninterrupted bill payments and other operations during emergencies.

Addressing a progress meeting of the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) at the Power Division on Monday, Hamid emphasized the importance of having independent communication systems. “If you have your own communication system, other communications, including bill payment, can be done quickly during emergencies,” he told officials.

This directive comes in response to the recent internet blackout during student protests, which disrupted consumers’ ability to recharge their prepaid and smart prepaid cards, resulting in automatic disconnections of electricity services until internet services were restored.

Hamid urged officials to prioritize cyber and physical security for power infrastructures and to ensure the implementation of decisions taken in various meetings. He stressed the need for a roadmap to build a smart Bangladesh swiftly.

The meeting revealed that the Power Division achieved 101.82 percent implementation of the revised annual development plan (RADP) for the financial year 2023-24. The total allocation for 64 projects under the Power Division was Tk 30,063.66 crores, with actual expenditure reaching Tk 30,609.89 crores.

Commending the officials for exceeding the implementation target, Hamid expressed his gratitude and emphasized the importance of setting and achieving monthly targets in a planned manner for the financial year 2024-25.

The meeting was attended by Senior Secretary of the Power Division Md. Habibur Rahman, Chairman of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (Sreda) Munira Sultana, Chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Chairman of BREB Ajay Kumar Chakraborty, Director General of Power Cell Mohammad Hossain, and heads of various entities under the Power Division.