Power price hike to increase cost of living

Staff Reporter :
People from all walks of life including several political parties have criticized the government for move to increase the power price which will badly affect the livelihoods of the commoners.
As a result, the price hike will increase the prices of essentials including house rent, food, industrial and agricultural productions.
People are already bearing the brunt of inflation owing to economic slowdown and dollar crises induced by pandemic and Ukraine-Russia war, price hike of power at retail level will increase the production cost and lead to a further spiral in inflation.
According to experts, it may increase cost of living, worsening the condition of lower-income groups across the country, specially the farmers.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice-President M Shamsul Alam said the government should take steps to reduce corruptions, if it is possible then there will b no need ofgiving subsidy to the energy sector.
He also said that price hike in electricity will only exacerbate inflation and increase the sufferings of lower-income people.
Expenditure is increasing in several folds more than income increase, private service holder Jahangir Hossain said adding that the common people are spending their days with huge sufferings due to high prices of products.
In such a situation when people are struggling to reconcile income and expenses, increase of the price of electricity by five percent will raisee sufferings.
 An increase in the price of electricity will increase the production cost of various products, resulting in an increase in the prices of products, they observed.
Executive Director of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling and Professor of the Economics Department of Dhaka University Dr. Salim Raihan said there is no reason now to increase price of electricity, it will only increase cost of living. Rather than hiking price, the government should take some other steps.
The government has increased the electricity price by 5 percent or 19 paisa per unit at the consumers’ level.
The Power, Energy and Mineral Resource Ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Thursday.
The retail electricity price has been readjusted under the authority vested in Section 34 (ka) of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Act, 2003, the gazette notification said.
Earlier on January 8, the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) recommended raising the weighted average tariff of electricity by 15.43 percent.
Meanwhile, the main opposition BNP, Gono Forum, Gonotontro Manch and other left-leaning parties have already urged the government to reduce the power price considering the people’s suffering.
Condemning the retail power price hike, BNP has already announced and threatened the government to mobilise street protests against the price hike.