50,951 authorised battery charging stations in the country, power minister tells parliament

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud has said there are 50,951 authorised battery charging stations under all distribution agencies or companies under the Power Division.

The minister said this in parliament on Thursday (12 November) in reply to a written question from MP Md Abdul Bari Sardar. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed presided over the session.

In his question, Md Abdul Bari Sardar asked how many meters the Power Division has approved across the country for charging auto-rickshaws.

He also asked how much electricity is used every day in the country, without meters or illegally, to charge around 70 to 75 lakh auto-rickshaws.

He further asked whether drives would be conducted to punish those involved in such activities, in order to reduce the pressure on ordinary customers and reduce load-shedding.

In reply, the power minister said various steps have been taken to stop illegal electricity connections and electricity theft, prevent meter tampering, disconnect illegal connections and improve the quality of customer service.

These include installation of automated meter reading (AMR) and prepaid meters, and work to install smart prepaid meters.

Construction and modernisation of distribution lines and bringing non-standard lines up to standard are also under way, the minister said.

The power minister said the agencies’ or companies’ own staff regularly conduct drives to prevent electricity use at auto-rickshaw charging stations through illegal means, meter tampering, meter bypass and hooking.

Alongside this, mobile courts are conducted through judicial magistrates or executive magistrates to disconnect illegal connections, collect fines and file cases against illegal users.

In these cases, legal action is taken under the Electricity Act 2018, the minister said.