Almost all 2,500 households — mostly fisher folks — on Nijhum Dwip, a national park that has the second-largest mangrove forest in Bangladesh, used solar PVs LED bulbs at night and recharge table fans and button phones. However, since October 2023, the island has been connected to the national grid, primarily powered by a 15 megawatt heavy fuel oil (HFO)-fired power plant located 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the island. In six months, 800 families came under grid coverage. Among them, fisher Kaiyum cherished using ceiling fans and a water pump with electricity. But at present, he is facing continual disruptions in the electricity supply. “A few days ago, a bird got electrocuted at the nearest electric pole. The incident snapped the electricity connection for around five hours,” Kaiyum said, adding that disruption in power supply is inevitable “even if there is a gusty wind.” In 2023, Bangladesh’s southern subdistrict of Hatiya and its island Nijhum Dwip were connected to the national grid for the first time through the Bangladesh Power Development Board‘s (BPDB) “100% Reliable and Sustainable Electrification Project.” Since April 2024, Nijhum Dwip has had a 50-km- (31-mile-) long power line network with 1,500 metal electric poles. The tallest ones, standing at 12 meters (39 feet), carry 11 kilovolts of primary electricity, while some shorter, 9-meter (29.5-foot) poles deliver usable electricity. Power line installations inside the Nijhum Dwip National Park. Image by Sadiqur Rahman. The electrification project neither followed the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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