BERC recommends nearly 58% hike in bulk power tariff

A technical evaluation committee of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Wednesday recommended a 57.83-percent hike in bulk power tariff.

It came up with the recommendation at a public hearing on power tariff hike, organised by the Commission, after a 65.57-percent sought by the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).

The public hearing was held at the BIAM Auditorium in the capital on Wednesday.

The proposed tariff by the BPDB is Tk 8.58 per unit, up from Tk 5.17 at present. But the BERC technical committee recommended making it Tk 8.16 without subsidy.

BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil, Members Maqbul-E-Elahi Chowdhury, Bazlur Rahman, Mohammad Abu Faruque, and Md Kamruzzaman, among others, were present at the hearing.

Now, the power tariff per unit is Tk 5.17, and the PDB proposed a 66 percent hike to Tk 8.58, taking into consideration the current gas price.

Earlier in February 2020, the BERC set the bulk power tariff at Tk 5.17 per unit.

PDB is the sole bulk power provider. Alongside generation, the state-owned company purchases power from imported and privately-owned power plants.

It has been selling power in bulk to five distribution companies and distributing in the urban areas of Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Chattrogram divisions.

In its proposal of bulk power tariff hike, PDB said power production costs increased for the non-availability of gas. It has to generate power using oil, which is raising the production cost.

According to PDB, power generation costs rose nearly 49 percent. During FY19-20, the average power generation cost was Tk 2.13 while it rose to Tk 3.16 in FY20-21.

With the increase in fuel oil price and rise of VAT on coal, power production cost per unit will rise to Tk 4.24 in 2022.

So, if the bulk price is not increased, PDB has to incur a loss of around Tk 30,251.80 crore.