Over half of consumers need middlemen to obtain electricity connection: Survey

Some 52 per cent of consumers responding to a survey covering two upazilas in Narayanganj and Cumilla have said they need to pursue middlemen to obtain an electricity connection, reports UNB.

This was revealed in a survey conducted by the Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Company (IIFC). The survey was carried out among 1400 consumers, of which 700 were in Sadar upazila of Narayanganj and the remaining 700 in Burichang upazila of Cumilla.

Receiving the findings of the draft survey report on Saturday, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid directed the power utilities to find out the causes as to why the consumers have to apply for electricity connection through the middlemen instead of their direct application to the respective organisations.

Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC), Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Rural Electrification Board (BREB) have been operating in the areas covered by the survey, where household consumers are 71 per cent of all connections while commercial and others are 29 per cent.

As per the survey report, some 39 per cent of the consumers receive electricity from DPDC, 39 per cent from BREB and the remaining 22 per cent from the BPDB.

The IIFC, an advisory body of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the finance ministry, however, claimed that it found 88 per cent of the consumers are satisfied with the electricity service.

Addressing the meeting, Nasrul Hamid urged the power distribution companies to take measures to inform their consumers about how they could receive the services directly from them and what kinds of services they would provide.

The state minister advised the utility bodies to build up direct communication with their consumers and also to involve the local body representatives in their campaign to offer their services to the consumers.

He said that 100 per cent consumers' satisfaction is expected from the power distribution entities.

The IIFC, which was established by the government in 1999 to promote and facilitate infrastructure projects in the country through Public-Private Partnership (PPP), found that 94 per cent consumers are happy with their electricity connection, 77 per cent are satisfied with responsiveness of utility companies against complaints, 95 per cent in getting bills and 88 per cent in metering service.

Power secretary Habibur Rahman, BPDB chairman Belayet Hossain, BREB chairman Moin Uddin and Power Cell director general Mohammad Hossain were among others who attended the virtual meeting.