Electricity price hike scrapped for low-income users
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission has withdrawn the electricity tariff hike for lifeline and low-consuming residential users, just one day after announcing the increase.
In an order issued on Thursday, the regulator said the revised tariffs for lifeline consumers using up to 50 units of electricity and first-slab residential consumers using up to 75 units would no longer come into effect from the June billing month.
Under the latest decision, the lifeline tariff will remain unchanged at Tk4.63 per kilowatt-hour instead of rising to Tk5.32. Similarly, the first residential slab tariff will stay at Tk5.26 per kilowatt-hour instead of increasing to Tk6.18.
BERC said the decision was taken after reviewing petitions submitted by power distribution companies on Thursday.
The Power Division also requested the regulator to reconsider the tariff hike for low-income and marginal consumers.
As a result, the weighted average retail electricity tariff has been reduced by Tk0.23 per unit from the rate announced on Wednesday. It now stands at Tk10.40 per kilowatt-hour, down from Tk10.63.
The regulator said keeping the lower tariffs unchanged for these consumer groups would reduce the revenue of distribution utilities. The shortfall will require additional government subsidies.
The reversal came a day after BERC approved tariff hikes at the wholesale, transmission and retail levels. The earlier decision raised the weighted average retail electricity price by 16.68 percent, from Tk9.11 per kilowatt-hour to Tk10.63.
The inclusion of lifeline and low-use residential consumers in the hike drew criticism from consumer rights groups and energy experts, who said the decision would place additional pressure on low-income households.
According to data presented during the tariff review process, around 1.62 crore lifeline customers would have been affected by the increase.
The tariff adjustments were based on proposals submitted by the Bangladesh Power Development Board and power distribution companies in early May. Public hearings were held on May 20 and 21.
During the hearings, consumer representatives opposed the tariff increase and called for greater efficiency, lower system losses and cost reduction in the power sector before imposing higher charges on consumers.
Although lifeline and low-use residential consumers have been exempted from the latest increase, higher electricity tariffs for all other consumer categories will remain effective from the June billing cycle.
