Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) for the first time took the public hearing for bulk power tariff reduction on Thursday on a proposal placed by the Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
In the proposal CAB claimed Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) is wasting Tk 11411 crore annually for purchasing electricity from costly power plants instead of preferring less cost plants.
CAB has proposed reducing the bulk tariff price by Tk 1.56 per unit taking different measures and implementing the previous BERC order to ensure the purchase of least cost electricity by Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). BPDB’s team in the hearing claimed that it needs Tk 40300 crore subsidy for purchasing electricity in this year.
CAB’s Energy Adviser Professor Shamsul Alam, Syed Abul Moksud, senior citizens representatives of different right group were also present at the hearing.
Earlier, the BERC started public hearings on September 25 by entertaining a proposal of state-owned PDB to raise the power tariff by 22.24 percent or Tk 1.09 per unit at the bulk level.
Currently, the bulk tariff of per unit electricity is Tk 4.90. The BPDB wants it to be refixed at Tk 5.99.
A technical evaluation committee of the regulator, which thoroughly examined the BPDB proposal, found gross inconsistency in the PDB’s accounting statements and recommended a rise by only 11.78 percent to Tk 5.41 per unit.
The CAB and other consumers groups strongly opposed to the BPDB’s proposal and placed their counter proposal to reduce the tariff by Tk 1.56 per unit.
Against this backdrop, BERC Chairman Monwar Islam accepted the proposal and issued an order to hold a public hearing on it.
However, the energy regulator, headed by its Chairman, will take the final decision on the tariff hike proposal within 90 days on conclusion of the current series of hearings.
In the CAB proposal, submitted by its advisor Prof M Shamsul Alam, it was shown that the BPDB could easily save about Tk 6661 crore by taking some measures.
