All the power distribution companies in the country have been asked to send their respective proposal on power tariff hike within the current month (February). “Last month, we sent a letter to all the distribution entities to send their proposals to the Power Division for scrutiny. We hope, they we’ll be able to send their proposals soon,” said a senior official at the Power Ministry. He said the Power Division will set a single proposal applicable for all the distribution companies so that there should be a similarity with each others proposal when those are placed to the energy regulatory body. The power tariff was last enhanced at the retail level in September 2012 responding to proposals of the government. The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) raised the retail power tariff by 15 percent to Tk 5.75 per unit amid opposition from consumers. “But despite that enhancement, still the government has to provide a subsidy of Tk 10,000-12,000 crore annually which is becoming unbearable for the government,” said the senior Power Division official who wished anonymity. “That’s why the government moved for raising the tariff again,” he said. Officials said since February 2011, the power tariff at the retail level has so far been raised by 43.75 percent on average in six phases — from Tk 4 a unit to Tk 5.75 a unit. The issue of raising the electricity tariff came for discussion recently following the Prime Minister’s visit at the Power and Energy Ministry. While holding a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the minister-in-charge of the Power and Energy Ministry, the Power Division officials made a presentation on the power sector’s overall performance. The meeting was informed that the government has to incur huge financial loss due to lower electricity tariff compared with the production cost. The Prime Minister directed the Power Division officials to expedite their move to raise the power tariff again to cover up the loss. – UNB
