The energised lines under the ongoing Rural Electrification (RE) programme will exceed 105,000 Kilometres by the year 2000. a Rural Electrification Board source said here yesterday, reports BSS.

It said the sales of electricity will exceed 24 billion kilowatts per hour hour per year by the turn of the century.

So. far 82,8041 Unes have been energised, to give 1.71 million connections in 20,520 villages.

The rural electrical programme in Bangladesh experienced an average 46.31 per cent loss compared to 30 per cent or more of the government electric utiUties, the source said adding that the RE programme's overall goal is to bring down the system loss to 10 per cent. In fiscal year 1996 electric sales increased over 23 per cent over the previous year.

Since the inception of the RE programme in 1978, the donor agencies and countries have provided 880.80 million US dollars for setting up 62 PBS,

distribution Unes and expansion work among other activities across the country.