BERC rolls back tariff hike for lifeline electricity users

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has withdrawn the recently increased electricity tariff for low-income and marginal consumers, aiming to ease pressure on the country’s lifeline customers.

The decision was announced on Thursday following requests from power distribution companies, according to officials.

Under the revised structure, the tariff for lifeline residential consumers (0-50 units) has been fixed at Tk 4.63 per unit, while the first slab of residential users (0-75 units) will pay Tk 5.26 per unit. The new rates will take effect from June.

Earlier, under the tariff announced on Wednesday, the lifeline rate was raised from Tk 4.63 to Tk 5.32 per unit, marking an increase of Tk 0.69 or nearly 15 percent. The latest revision has effectively rolled back that hike for low-income users.

According to the Power Division, Bangladesh currently has 17.88 million lifeline consumers, of whom over 16.14 million are under the Rural Electrification Board (REB). The government has long been providing electricity at subsidised rates to support education, healthcare and living standards of low-income households.

Under the new tariff structure, bulk electricity prices have been set at Tk 8.39 per unit, up from Tk 7, reflecting an increase of Tk 1.39 or 19.85 percent.

At the retail level, the average tariff has been raised to Tk 10.63 per unit from Tk 9.11, marking an increase of Tk 1.52 or 16.68 percent.

Officials said the revised rates will apply to all consumer categories except lifeline residential users, who have been exempted from the latest increase.

TZ