Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is bent on increasing bulk electricity tariffs by up to 21 per cent to relieve the government exchequer of subsidy burdens.
Proposing the hike during a public hearing held at the KIB Auditorium in Dhaka on Wednesday, BPDB chairman Md Rezaul Karim said, "If the tariffs are increased in line with our proposal, the government subsidy on power will be reduced only by one-fourth.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) organized the public hearing chaired by the commission chairman, Jalal Ahmed, on the proposed raise in electricity rates.
The bulk power tariff-hike proposal, however, faced strong opposition from politicians, business representatives, consumer-rights group and other stakeholders.
They argued that "the burden of mismanagement and corruption" was being unfairly shifted onto consumers. Stakeholders further note that rising electricity costs would have wide-ranging impacts amid already-increasing commodity prices, and entrepreneurs in the production sector would fall behind.
The power board has proposed raising the bulk electricity prices to address a projected Tk 655-billion deficit in fiscal year 2026-27.
Estimated power-generation cost is Tk 1.43 trillion with per-unit electricity costing Tk 12.91. At current bulk or wholesale rates, revenue would come to Tk 775 billion.
The BPDB authorities have proposed that a Tk 1.20 or 17-percent increase per unit could reduce the deficit by Tk 13.29 billion while a Tk 1.50 or 21-percent hike could cut it by Tk 16.66 billion.
The commission held the public hearing on retail power -tariff hikes against the proposals of the BPDB and other state-run electricity-distribution companies.
In the latest, power tariffs were raised on February 29, 2024 by an executive order when wholesale electricity price was increased by 5.0 per cent from Tk 6.70 to Tk 6.99 per unit, while retail -level prices rose by an average of 8.50 per cent.
The regulator last raised bulk tariffs on November 21, 2022, by 19.92 per cent, setting the rate at Tk 6.20 per unit after a public hearing.
Azizjst@yahoo.com
