Anisul Islam Noor :
The government has planned to lower ceiling of electricity consumption from 50 units to 30 units per month in a bid to decrease subsidy in power sector, Power Ministry sources said.
Subject to the implementation, the plan will exclude a significant number of consumers from the benefit of subsidy, Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) claimed.
It means the poor consumers will be allowed to use one fan and two lights only. Under the current ceiling, they can use two fans and three lights. It is in fact part of the government’s greater plan to gradually withdraw subsidy from the power sector, sources said.
Some 50 lakh beneficiaries now pay Tk 3.33 to 3.74 per unit. The tariff may be increased by maximum six per cent, sources said.
The power utilities have suggested a more expensive slab for the deprived consumers at Tk 4.20 to 4.30 per unit, according to their proposals submitted to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
When asked, a Power Development Board official said that a greater number of poor rural people would be excluded from the current benefit. At present, electrical appliances used by the rural consumers remain unutilized most of the time due to frequent and prolonged power cuts, he explained.
Earlier in March 2014, the BERC for the first time slashed the lifeline ceiling from 75 units to 50 units a month.
Shamsul Alam, Energy Expert and Adviser of CAB said that it seemed the government wanted to shrug off its responsibility of giving subsidy to the poor for improving their living standards.
Ganasanghati Andolan’s Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki said that the government degraded the poor by slashing the level of their power consumption.
The government has planned to lower ceiling of electricity consumption from 50 units to 30 units per month in a bid to decrease subsidy in power sector, Power Ministry sources said.
Subject to the implementation, the plan will exclude a significant number of consumers from the benefit of subsidy, Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) claimed.
It means the poor consumers will be allowed to use one fan and two lights only. Under the current ceiling, they can use two fans and three lights. It is in fact part of the government’s greater plan to gradually withdraw subsidy from the power sector, sources said.
Some 50 lakh beneficiaries now pay Tk 3.33 to 3.74 per unit. The tariff may be increased by maximum six per cent, sources said.
The power utilities have suggested a more expensive slab for the deprived consumers at Tk 4.20 to 4.30 per unit, according to their proposals submitted to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
When asked, a Power Development Board official said that a greater number of poor rural people would be excluded from the current benefit. At present, electrical appliances used by the rural consumers remain unutilized most of the time due to frequent and prolonged power cuts, he explained.
Earlier in March 2014, the BERC for the first time slashed the lifeline ceiling from 75 units to 50 units a month.
Shamsul Alam, Energy Expert and Adviser of CAB said that it seemed the government wanted to shrug off its responsibility of giving subsidy to the poor for improving their living standards.
Ganasanghati Andolan’s Chief Coordinator Zonayed Saki said that the government degraded the poor by slashing the level of their power consumption.
