Cost of electricity to increase from March 1
The increment is due to save the government about Tk2,762 crore in annual energy subsidies
The retail tariff of electricity is to increase by Tk.36 per unit from March 1 – costing Tk7.13.
On February 27, the price of electricity per kilowatt hour was hiked by 5.3 percent at retail and 8.4 percent at wholesale levels; the increment was imposed by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
Six months after a hike in gas prices, the government has also increased the electricity price.
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Including this time, the power tariff has been increased ten times over the last decade.
The government last raised retail power prices by Tk0.35, or 5.3 percent per unit, in November 2017.
According to the announcement, the retail power tariff has been increased from Tk6.77 to Tk7.13 per kilowatt hour unit – and Tk4.77 to Tk5.17 at the wholesale level.
As a result, household prices for up to 75 units of electricity are going up by Tk44, 76-400 units by Tk144, and the cost of 500-1,000 units increased by Tk250.
Meanwhile, the electricity expenses of a medium industry that uses 15,000 to 2.01 lakh kilowatt-hour of electricity each month will cross from Tk16.78 lakh to Tk17.67 lakh from this month.
Experts said the markup in the main power prices would again raise the nation's inflation rate to some extent.
Businessmen expressed their concern that the country's manufacturing sector – which is already reeling under the impact of the coronavirus outbreak – is going to plunge into a deeper crisis with the electricity price hike.
Bangladesh's non-food inflation rose to 6.3 percent in January from 5.55 percent in last December, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
The electricity price increment will help the government save about Tk2,762 crore in annual energy subsidies, said BERC officials.
