Ten to 15pc hike in power tariff likely from Jan '23

The government is set to increase 10 to 15 per cent electricity tariff at the consumers level from January 2023, sources told the Daily Observer on Thursday.
"To offset the financial loss of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), we are considering the proposals of all the six state-owned power distribution bodies soon," a government official said preferring anonymity.
The BERC hiked the bulk electricity price by 19.92 per cent last month, following that tariff hike announcement, BPDB sought to raise the retail tariff by 19.44 per cent, later, all other five distributing entities including Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC), Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (Desco), Northern Electricity Supply Company PLS (Nesco), West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL)-have placed almost an identical proposal to raise retail power tariff by about 19 to 20 per cent.
The retail power tariff was last raised in March, 2020 by BERC after holding a public hearing.
If the government increases the retail power tariff than it would stand at Tk 7 to 7.5 to Tk 8 to 8.5 per unit (each kilowatt-hour), officials said.    According to the Power Division if the BPDB sells electricity at the existing rate, it will have to face a deficit of Tk 30,251 crore in revenue. So, we are considering raising the tariff by 10 to 15 per cent at this time at retail level, the official added.
The BPDB showed that it will require Tk 74,189 crore in revenue to generate 88,993 million kilowatt hours (units) of electricity to supply to the power distribution companies. Sources said the latest calculation reveals that the BPDB's revenue deficit has further increased to about Tk 48,000 crore following the hike in petroleum fuel prices and also the price of dollars. BPDB had calculated the dollar exchange rate at Tk 85 (in 2020). But now it has to calculate at Tk 107 to pay the IPP bills.
"We think we should first consult with the government before starting any process for public hearing on the submitted proposals", Mohammad Bazlur Rahman, Member (Power) of the BERC, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) told the media.
The Cabinet on November 28 approved an amendment to the BERC Ordinance 2022 to empower the government to set fuel tariff on its own under special circumstances without waiting for the commission's public hearing and decision.
As per the latest statistics, the financial loss of the BPDB is likely to increase by Tk 18,094 crore in one year,  the financial loss will cross Tk 48,000 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal from Tk 29,915 crore in the fiscal year 2021-22, an increase of almost 67 per cent.
Officials said the recent 19.92 per cent hike in the bulk tariff has reduced BPDB's loss by only Tk 5,000 crore.