A seminar highlighting the smart grid solution and empowering the future of power distribution was held in Dhaka recently to get more innovative ideas for accelerating the “Smart Grid” 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)’ initiated by Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) and co-funded by the European Union (EU) and AFD, the seminar was held to discover the “endless possibilities” of smarter energy future.

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The seminar titled “Exploring Smart Grids, Shaping the Future of Sustainable Energy” was held at University of Asia Pacific (UAP) and was organised by DPDC, said a media release on Sunday.

This event was facilitated by the implementing partner and official consultant organisation NKSoft Corporation, USA.

Abdul Alim, Project Director, Prof Dr Kamrul Ahsan VC, University of Asia Pacific (UAP), Morshed Alam Khan, Executive Director (Engineering) of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) and Md Tariqul Hoque, Chief Engineer of DPDC, among others, spoke.

The event's seminar moderation and keynote speech were handled by consultants from NkSoft Corporation, USA. Notably, John Chowdhury, Managing Director at NKSoft Corporation, USA, lent his insights as one of the distinguished consultants from the organization.

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Edwin Koekkoek, Team Leader - Green Inclusive Development and Social Protection, EU, provided a thoughtful contribution on behalf of the EU.

Thibaut Hamm, Project Manager, AFD, shared significant perspectives representing the French Agency for Development (AFD).

Farjana Yesmin Asha, Director of Global Brand Communication at NKSoft Corporation USA, delivered welcome remarks.

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Power Factor Improvement and Smart Grid under Dhaka Power Development Company (DPDC) is a blended finance project where an EU grant is combined with a soft loan from AFD, for a total of EUR 112 million. The project has the following main features:

·         A total of 1,141,000 people will benefit from a significant improvement in the quality of electricity service;

·         It helps fight climate change by preventing an accumulated 104,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year;

·         It is the first ever-smart grid project in Bangladesh.