The government has increased the retail price of electricity by 5% per unit on average at the consumer level across Bangladesh.
Through this, the average retail price of electricity will be Tk7.49 per kilowatt hour (each unit), which was Tk7.13 earlier.
The monthly demand charge was also raised for different types of consumers.
The government raised the retail price of electricity through an executive order on Thursday.
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said the new power tariff will come into effect from the current month (January) and consumers using post-paid meters will have to pay from February.
Prepaid meter consumers will have to add the adjusted tariff to their electricity bill from this month.
From now, the electricity prices will be adjusted in the first week of every month, the state minister said.
“Consumers will now be informed about the price of electricity, whether it adjusts upward or downward, in the first week of every month,” he added.
According to the notification, The tariff for lifeline consumers, who use up to 50 units (kwh) a month, was raised by Tk0.19 to Tk3.94 per unit from Tk3.75. The electricity price of 0 to 75 units will be Tk4.40 from Tk4.19, and the price of 76 to 200 units will be now Tk6.01 from Tk5.72.
Users of 201 to 300 units will have to pay Tk6.30 per unit from now instead of Tk6, the electricity price of 301 to 400 units will be Tk6.66from Tk6.34, the electricity price of 401 to 600 units will be Tk10.45 from Tk9.94, and the electricity bill of retail customers using electricity above 600 units will be Tk12.03 from Tk11.39.
Earlier, the BERC raised about 19.92% bulk power tariff on November 21 with effect from December 1.
Subsequently, six power distribution entities submitted their respective proposals to the BERC seeing a similar 19.44% hike in retail power tariff at consumer level.
But within a week, the Cabinet on November 28 approved an amendment to the BERC Ordinance 2022 to empower the government to set fuel tariff on its own under special circumstances without waiting for the commission's public hearing and decision.
Previously, the prices of gas and electricity were adjusted by the BERC through hearings.
However, this time the decision to raise the power tariff at the retail level was taken under the new amendment.
The public hearing on retail power tariff hike proposals took place on Sunday in the city's BIAM Auditorium.
At the hearing, the technical committee of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) recommended to increase the retail price of electricity by 15.43%.
The last time in February 2020, electricity prices were increased at all levels. At that time, the wholesale price was increased by 8.4% and the general consumer or retail level was increased by 5.3%.
Power tariff hiked by Tk3.59 in 13 years
In the last 12 years, the price of electricity has increased 10 times at the consumer level,
Since the Awami League government assumed power in 2010, the price of electricity increased by Tk3.59.
An analysis of the electricity price increase showed that the average price of electricity supplied at the consumer level in February 2010 was Tk3.73. In March 2020, it was Tk7.13.
In the three consecutive terms of the Awami League government, $2,830 million have been invested in the power sector so far.
Prof Shamsul Alam, energy advisor of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), says that electricity prices have been hiked as the government seeks to reduce subsidies.
“Now rice, oil and all other traders will say that they will also increase the price of their products, it is natural. We do not want the government to run the country with subsidies. We have been fighting for the last 14 years to formulate a specific policy for fixing electricity prices. However, it is yet to come into fruition,” he added.
