Shawdesh Desk:

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday increased the average bulk electricity price by 19.92 per cent with effect from December 2022.

Under the new price, bulk electricity consumers would have to pay Tk 6.20 per kilowatt hour, up from the previous price of Tk 5.17.

BERC chairman Abdul Jalil announced the new price at a virtual press conference.

‘The retail power price however would remain unchanged,’ said Abdul Jalil.

The new price would increase cost of power distributors and other bulk-consumers.

The new price came based on the public hearing in May. The public hearing heard the Power Development Board recommend a 66 per cent rise in bulk price.

On October 13, the BERC in its first order given on the PDB proposal kept bulk electricity price unchanged citing lack of data and other ambiguities.

The PDB clarified all ambiguities and supplied necessary data on November 13 leading to the review of the earlier decision, the BERC said.

The BERC said that the average bulk tariff hike was necessary despite Tk 17,000 crore subsidy from the government.

A retail power price hike is now a matter of time, energy experts said, adding that the government should have avoided creating conditions for increasing retail power price amidst soaring essential and other utility prices.

In August, fuel oil prices were increased up to 50 per cent, leading to a jump in daily life expenses.

Daily life expenses had gone up another round in June when the average retail gas price was raised by 23 per cent.

Consumers Association Bangladesh’s energy adviser M Shamsul Alam said that the BERC cheated with people by not holding public hearing before reviewing its earlier decision.

The last time the BERC increased the average retail price of electricity was in February 2020 by 5.3 per cent. The last time the average bulk price was increased was in February with an 8.39 per cent hike.

The electricity price was raised 98 per cent in 10 phases over 11 years since the incumbent AL-led government assumed power in 2009.

The power price hike came despite the government reduced power production introducing rolling power outages in July. Rolling power outage was introduced for reducing expenses as the government plunged into an economic crisis.