Rural Electrification Board (REB) held a meeting in Dhaka at 11:00am on 4 May with its headquarters and field officials, along with Senior General Managers and General Managers of 80 Palli Bidyut Samities PBS, to review and improve rural electricity distribution, the board said in a press release.
REB Chairman Major General SM Zia-Ul-Azim NDC AFWC PSC chaired the meeting, attended by Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud MP as chief guest and State Minister Anindya Islam Amit MP as special guest, where officials briefed them on ongoing operations and challenges in the power distribution network.
Participants, including supervising engineers and PBS leaders, highlighted issues such as proportional load-shedding, reducing system loss, improving bill collection, modernising infrastructure and strengthening coordination with other agencies.
The minister said REB, established in 1977 by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman to address urban-rural disparities, remains one of the most successful institutions under the power division.
He said the existing rural electrification model has proven effective and should continue without major changes, while directing PBS leaders to strengthen customer relations and work towards making loss-making entities profitable.
The state minister said REB operates as a unique model without government subsidy through cross-subsidy mechanisms and stressed ensuring customer satisfaction and better service delivery.
He also instructed officials to clearly communicate the causes of load-shedding and other electricity issues to consumers.
The chairman said REB would continue to work with all stakeholders to advance rural electrification in line with government directives.
