Monday, June 26, 2006
NORTH BALTIMORE, Ohio - Four members of the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Program will visit Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative on Tuesday, June 27 from 9:00 am-12:00 pm, as part of a two-week international training program. The media is invited to attend and interview participants.
The group is visiting several energy companies in the United States to better help their nation cope with many of the same energy issues that America faces: generation, rising power costs, distribution and basic management issues.
The Bangladesh Rural Electrification Program began with a 1977 Presidential Ordinance that created and established the Rural Electrification Board (REB). Their goal was development of a system of rural electric cooperatives modeled on the very successful United States rural electrification program, which now provides electric service to over 39 million rural consumers in 47 states. Since those humble beginnings in 1977, REB has organized 70 Palli Bidyut Samities (PBSs) -- or electric cooperatives -- in the rural areas of Bangladesh. All PBSs are in commercial operation providing electric service to about 6.5 million residential/commercial meters serving an estimated 35 million people.
This two-week training program provided by National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International Programs, is designed to provide participants with an overview of various issues related to power sector reform in light of globalization, all of which impact the sector worldwide in different ways.
Bangladesh is located in South Asia, and bordered by India on three sides and Myanmar to the southeast; the Bay of Bengal forms the southern coastline. The population of Bangladesh ranks eighth in the world, and is only about the size of Wisconsin, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It is the third largest Muslim-majority nation.
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