BGMEA wants power price freeze

Readymade garment factory owners want the government to keep the price of power ‘unchanged’ for them much like the farmers. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) in a statement on Sunday demanded the same facility. Power tariffs have been raised by 6.96 per cent on average effective from this month. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced the decision on March 13. It, however, did not change the tariff for electricity used for irrigation purposes at Tk 2.51 per unit. “The BGMEA requests the government to keep the power tariff for the garment sector unchanged like it did for irrigation purposes so that the garment sector can be competitive,” the statement read. The flat rate tariff for garment sector has been increased to Tk 9.58 per unit from Tk 9. Off-peak rates have increased to Tk 8.16 from Tk 7.22 while the peak hour rate of Tk 11.85 remains unchanged. According to the BGMEA, this hike in power tariff will hit the industry with their cost of production already rising by 13 per cent in recent times, according to a news agency.