14 postal department centers' solar power save 62 percent cost

Using solar power, 14 Mail Processing Centers (MPCs) of the Postal Department have saved nearly 13 lakh taka in electricity bills.

Without the solar power system, the electricity bills of these centers would have been about 20 lakh 86 thousand taka. But by meeting their own needs and supplying surplus electricity to the national grid, the bills through net metering have come down to 7 lakh 94 thousand taka. This has resulted in savings of about 62 percent of the potential cost.

According to information provided by the Directorate of Posts, this savings occurred in the period from 2023 to October of the current year. At a time when the government is emphasizing increasing the use of solar power in all public offices, the experience of these 14 centers of the Postal Department has become a practical example of renewable energy use in government establishments.

Kazi Asadul Islam, Director General of the Directorate of Posts, said that the use of solar power is not just about saving electricity, but rather an important step toward building a sustainable and environmentally friendly future.

He further said, "By adding surplus electricity to the national grid through net metering, it is possible to develop government establishments as part of a more energy-efficient system."

Kazi Asadul Islam said, "The experience of our 14 centers has proven that solar power in government establishments is effective not only for the environment but also for saving government money."

The Director General further said, "A government institution is producing its own electricity and also supplying surplus electricity to the national grid. This can be a model for other government departments to follow as well."

The Directorate of Posts stated that during this period, a total of 86,141 units of electricity were generated from the solar panels of the 14 MPCs. Of this, 37,417 units were used directly to meet the centers' own needs.

The Directorate further said that the remaining 48,724 units were supplied to the national grid through the net metering system. That is, about 43 percent of the generated solar electricity was used by the centers themselves, and the remaining about 57 percent was added to the national grid.

The centers where the solar power system has been installed are—Tejgaon, Chattogram, Noakhali, Habiganj, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Ishwardi, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Barishal, Jashore, Khulna, Kushtia, and Gopalganj MPCs.

Under the Mail Processing and Logistic Service Center Construction Project, the buildings of these centers were constructed at a cost of 78 crore 50 lakh taka. Along with that, 35 types of modern furniture and necessary equipment were installed to make the centers fully operational.

One of the most important parts of this infrastructure development is the solar panels with net metering facilities.

The Directorate of Posts further stated that this system was installed at the centers with the aim of reducing dependence on national grid electricity, increasing the use of renewable energy, and saving on electricity bills in the long term. To further increase the capacity of the centers, a new development project titled "Sustainable Support for the Mail Processing and Logistic Service Center Construction Project" has also been undertaken.According to the Directorate's calculations, without the solar power system, the 14 centers would have needed to draw a total of 1 lakh 39 thousand 97 units of electricity from the grid. At 15 taka per unit, the bill would have amounted to 20 lakh 86 thousand 455 taka.However, after generating solar power and supplying it to the grid, the actual volume of electricity payable by the centers, adjusted through net metering, stood at 52 thousand 956 units. Against this, the bill came to 7 lakh 94 thousand 340 taka. As a result, the savings in electricity bills amounted to 12 lakh 92 thousand 115 taka, which is 61.93 percent of the potential cost had the solar power system not been in place.Calculating at the same rate, about 5 lakh 61 thousand taka was adjusted against the bill from the centers' own use of solar power, and about 7 lakh 31 thousand taka from the electricity supplied to the grid. By this calculation, each center saved an average of about 92 thousand taka.This initiative also has benefits for the environment. Most of the country's grid electricity comes from fossil fuels. According to the international data-based platform Low Carbon Power, from April 2025 to March 2026, the country's grid emitted an average of about 582 grams of carbon dioxide per unit of electricity generated. At this rate, the solar power generated by the 14 MPCs has reduced carbon emissions by an estimated 50 tons.However, since solar power generation depends on the weather, production decreases on rainy days and during dense fog. At those times, the centers have to rely on national grid electricity to keep operations running. According to the Directorate of Posts, during this period the centers received a total of 1 lakh 1 thousand 680 units of electricity from the grid.Khan Hasan Mohammad Iqbal Masud, Additional Director General (Planning) of the Directorate of Posts, said, "Solar power depends on the weather, so on rainy and foggy days we have to take electricity from the grid. Nevertheless, being able to supply a large portion of the generated electricity to the grid has significantly reduced the centers' electricity costs."He said, "If regular maintenance can be ensured, this savings will increase further in the long term."According to the Directorate's information, the plan was to start solar power operations at the centers from July 2022. However, since the technology was new in the country, after installing the panels, clearances had to be obtained from various government agencies while they were operational. These clearances could not be obtained before installation.At the same time, since the net metering system was also new for the Power Division, it took time to finalize the process of electricity accounting and financial adjustment with the national grid. Due to these reasons, solar power operations at the centers began gradually from 2023.Director General Kazi Asadul Islam said, "Since it was a new technology, we took some time at the beginning in the clearance and financial adjustment process. Now that pathway has been established. Using this experience, it will be possible to launch solar power systems at other establishments of the Postal Department more quickly and in a planned manner in the future."The government has recently taken various initiatives to save energy and increase the use of renewable energy in the country.On August 3, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed the phased installation of solar power at important government buildings. Under this, plans were taken to increase the use of solar power at various government establishments, including Bangabhaban, the Prime Minister's Office, the National Parliament Building, the Planning Commission, and the Ministry of Finance building.Later, following the decision of August 10, the Cabinet Division directed that maximum use of solar power be ensured for official work at important government offices.According to government information, as of June this year, the installed capacity of rooftop solar power in the country was 418.1 megawatts. This initiative is also progressing in institutions under the Posts and Telecommunications Division. Recently, Science, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam inaugurated a one-megawatt capacity rooftop solar power plant at Bangladesh Cable Industries Limited in Khulna.At that time, he called upon government institutions to use unused rooftops and other suitable spaces for solar power generation.