The government has hiked retail power prices by 2.97 percent and gas prices by 26.29 percent that will be effective from Sep 1.
Published : 27 Aug 2015, 04:53 PM
Gas supplied to single-burner stoves in households will cost Tk 600 a month and for double-burners, customers will be charged Tk 650.
Metered connections will see a rise to Tk 7 per cubic feet from Tk 5.16.
CNG at refuelling stations will also become costlier with a Tk 5 rise to Tk 35 per cubic metre.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission chief AR Khan announced the hikes on Thursday in a news conference at the commission’s office in Karwan Bazar.
Gas prices have been hiked for all purposes except for generating power and manufacturing fertilisers.
“We received proposals from companies to hike the prices. We held hearings in February, analysed a lot of factors before making the decisions,” Khan said.
He defended the hike in gas prices saying, “Nowhere in the world is gas supplied so cheap.”
Gas prices were last adjusted on Aug 1, 2009 when the incumbent Awami League government first took office. All retail prices were increased at the time except those for brick kilns and CNG refuelling stations.
After Awami League was re-elected into office last year, the new State Minister for Power, Energy and Mines Nasrul Hamid Bipu declared his position for hiking gas prices.
Retail power prices were hiked by an average of 6.96 percent in March last year. The five-year tenure of the Awami League government before that saw 11 hikes.
The BERC started public hearings from Jan 20 following price hike proposals from distribution companies.
Even though the proposals from Bangladesh Power Development Board, Power Grid Company Bangladesh and West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited were evaluated in the hearings, the commission was not giving any decision.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith earlier this week said they would be adjusting domestic oil prices with the international market by the end of September.
A Wall Street Journal report on Friday said oil prices dropped to its lowest since March 2009 with crude prices down to below $40 a barrel.
Although oil prices have been falling in the international market for over a year, the government did not adjust local prices.
The last revision was in 2013 where octane was set at Tk 99 per litre, petrol at Tk 97 and kerosene and diesel at Tk 68.
Power dearer in all sectors
At household level, prices have been raised under six slabs.
Tk 3.53 to Tk 3.80 per unit for use up to 75 units, 13 paisa rise to Tk 5.14 for 76-200 units, 17 paisa rise to Tk 5.36 for 201-300 units, 21 paisa rise to Tk 5.63 for 301-400 units, 19 paisa rise to Tk 8.70 for 401-600 units and 5 paisa rise to Tk 9.98 per unit for above 601 units.
According to BERC, cost of electricity will go up at least Tk 20.25 under first slab, Tk 25 under second slab and Tk 51, Tk 84, Tk 114 and Tk 30 under third, fourth, fifth and sixth slabs, respectively.
Uniform rates, irrespective of the distribution company, have also been declared for power supply to irrigation pumps.
Every unit of rural electricity will now cost Tk 3.82 instead of Tk 3.39-Tk 3.96. Rates of other distribution companies have also been pushed to the same rate.
Flat rate for small industries has been raised to Tk 7.66 from Tk 7.42. For commercial and office use, per unit flat rate of power is Tk 9.80, which was Tk 9.58.
Tariffs of heavy-load connections (33 and 132 KV) and mid-load connections (11 KV) have also been changed. The 132 KV lines will be dearer for areas under DPDC and DESCO, while BREB, WZPDC, BPDB areas will see cuts.
Tariffs for the 33 KV lines will become costlier for all distributors.
Wheeling charges of all lines will go up as well.
Khan justified the hike by saying the Bangladesh Power Grid Company Limited had invested to modernise distributions. “The hike will help them out a little.”
Power, fertiliser sectors spared
Price of gas supply to captive power generators in industries have been doubled to Tk 8.36 per cubic feet from Tk 4.18.
Industrial connection tariff has been hiked to Tk 6.74 per cubic feet from Tk 5.86.
Commercial gas bill will also increase with per cubic feet rates being increased to Tk 11.36 from Tk 9.47.
Opposition Jatiya Party has slated the price hike terming it ‘illogical’ in a release signed by its Chairman HM Ershad and Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu.
Left-wingers have said the price hike would adversely affect transport and production costs, and people with fixed incomes will suffer.