New pressure to increase electricity prices, big proposals at both transmission and wholesale levels

A proposal for a major price adjustment in the electricity sector has emerged in a public hearing held at the KIB auditorium in the capital. In the hearing held on Wednesday (May 20), the Power Grid Bangladesh (PGCB) and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) proposed to increase the transmission charge and wholesale electricity prices.

The PGCB proposed to increase the transmission charge per unit from 30 paisa to 49 paisa, which is an increase of about 19 paisa or about 60 percent. At the same time, the PDB proposed to increase the wholesale electricity price by 1.5 taka per unit or about 21 percent.

At the public hearing, PDB Chief Engineer Md. Rezaul Karim said that the deficit in the electricity sector could be about 62 thousand crore taka in the current fiscal year. It is feared that this deficit could increase further to 65 thousand crore taka in the next fiscal year. He also said that if the electricity prices are not adjusted, the entire sector will be at serious financial risk.

However, various political parties, business representatives, and stakeholders including the consumer rights organization CAB took a strong stand against this proposal. They alleged that the responsibility for irregularities and corruption in the sector is being placed on the common consumer.

The speakers said that increasing the price of electricity amid the current high prices of daily necessities will further increase the cost of living of the common people. At the same time, there will be a negative impact on the manufacturing sector and industrial entrepreneurs will lag behind in the competition.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has said that a public hearing will be held on the application to increase the price of electricity at the consumer level next Thursday.