UNB, Dhaka :Chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission AR Khan on Wednesday) said that rental power plants should not be considered as a permanent solution to power crisis.”There is much debate about the rental power plants. The government was compelled to go for setting up rental power plants”, he said commenting on tariff hike proposals on the second day of the public hearing at the commission.The 3-day public hearing began at the commission office in the city on Tuesday on the proposals of five state-owned power distribution companies. The watchdog body heard the proposals of the PDB and the WZPDC on the first day while debate took place on the proposals of the Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC) and the Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) on Wednesday.The DPDC proposed to raise its tariff on average by 23.50 percent at the retail level while the DESCO urged the regulator to raise the tariff by 15.90 percent.However, the technical evaluation committee of the BERC recommended 6.03 percent rise in the DPDC retail tariff and 2.01 percent increase in the DESCO tariff at retail level.Taking part in the debate, representatives from some left leaning political parties, social organizations, business bodies and consumer right groups opposed the tariff rise.They said a hike in power tariff will hit hard the farmers and the poorand also the middle class people.Energy expert Prof Nurul Islam observed that a new slab could be created for the poor who use only a 25 kilowatt (unit).
