The US Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a $1.5m grant to help modernise Bangladesh’s power sector using smart grid infrastructure.

The technical assistance grant will go to Power Cell, a policy and planning agency under the government of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources. Power Cell has selected Massachusetts-based Boston Consulting Group to carry out the assistance.

“USTDA’s grant 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,” said Vinai Thummalapally, USTDA’s acting director. “Around the world, US companies are helping USTDA’s partners meet their climate goals through the deployment of high-quality infrastructure. These innovations will make a difference for the people of Bangladesh.”

USTDA’s assistance will provide a detailed ten-year roadmap, including an investment and implementation schedule, for using smart grid technologies to strengthen the resilience of Bangladesh’s power grid. These technologies should improve the affordability and reliability of electricity for more than 20 million households and industrial consumers.

“Two-way communication brought about by a smart grid will allow us to generate and use power more intelligently and efficiently,” said chargé d’affaires Helen LaFave from the US embassy in Bangladesh. “Implementing a smart grid is therefore an infrastructure development as potent as any bridge or flyover.”

State minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, added: “I hope that by following this roadmap, Bangladesh would be able to achieve its goal to implement smart grid in order to ensure quality and uninterrupted electricity supply.”

This 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.

The USTDA helps companies create US jobs through the export of US goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. It links US businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.