The technical evaluation committee of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has recommended against raising power tariffs at the consumer-level by a distribution company.
The recommendation came yesterday after a public hearing on proposals by the West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCO) for hiking electricity prices by 21.31% if the proposed bulk tariff went up.
WZPDCO Deputy General Manager Rabindranath Roy presented the proposal before the commission, but said they would not have made the retail tariff proposal if there was also no proposal regarding bulk tariff hike.
However, the BERC committee recommended increasing average per unit (each kilowatt-hour) tariffs for the WZPDCO consumers by 2.28% if the bulk tariff was increased.
The WZPDCO has about eight lakh customers in 21 districts and 20 upazila towns, including Khulna, Bagerhat, Jessore and Barisal.
BERC Chairman AR Khan, Members Salim Mahmud, Delwar Hossain and Md Maksudul Haque and other stakeholders attended the public hearing at the commission’s office in the capital.
Meanwhile, Shamsul Alam, energy adviser of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), opposed the BERC move to raise power tariffs during yesterday’s hearing.
During the hearing, members of some left-leaning parties, including the Communist Party of Bangladesh, also requested the commission not to increase the tariffs.
Mostaque Ahmed, chief of the evaluation committee and also a director for the BERC, said if the bulk power tariff was increased by 5.16%, the operating revenue in 2014-15 fiscal year for the WZPDCO would be Tk1542.8 crore for 2351.02 million units.
If the bulk tariff was not increased, then the company’s revenue would be Tk1509.7 crore; while the company would reach break-even if the BERC recommendation for only 2.28% increase in case of a bulk tariff hike was approved.
On January 20, the technical evaluation committee of the BERC recommended raising bulk power tariffs. It recommended increasing the average per unit (per kilowatt-hour) tariff of the PDB by 5.16%.
