The government yesterday increased electricity prices of four distributing companies by 5.98 to 6.99 percent, with effect from Marchi.

Bangladesh Energy Regulation Commission (BERC) Chairman Syed Yusuf Hossain announced the price hike at a media briefing in his office in the capital.

He said the additional revenue earned by the four companies due to the power tariff hike, will be spent to increase power generation, and to curb system loss.

He said after a long hearing of different stakeholders' concerns, BERC decided to increase the power tariffs of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco), West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDC), and Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC).

From now on, households consuming 1 to 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity have to pay Tk 2.60 per unit, up from the previous rate of Tk 2.50; for lOlkWh to 400kWh use the new tariff is Tk 3.30 per unit which was Tk 3.15 before, and for 400kWh and more domestic use the new tariff is Tk 5.65 per unit compared to the previous rate ofTk 5.25.

The electricity price for agricultural use however remains unchanged at Tk 1.93 per unit, the BERC chairman said.

From now on BPDB power for small industries will cost Tk 5.95 per unit during peak hours, Tk 3.50 per unit for off-peak hours, and Tk 4.35 per unit for other times, which used to beTk5.62,Tk3.20,andTk4.02 respectively.

For other commercial uses of BPDB power, the new peak hour rate is Tk 8.45 per unit, off-peak hour rate is Tk 4.05, and for other times it is Tk 5.58, which were Tk8.20, Tk 3.80, andTk 5.30 respectively.

On an average, BPDB's tariffs increased by 6.03 percent while DPDC's increased by 6.99 percent, Desco's by 6.29 percent, and WZPDC's by 5.98 percent.

Yusuf Hossain said the power companies proposed for a much steeper hike, but BERC agreed to the current price increase thinking of the pressure on the consumers.

BPDB has been selling power in Rajshahi, Chittagong, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Comilla, and Sylhet, Desco supplies power to Mirpur and Uttara areas of the capital, WZPDC sells power in Barisal and Khulna, and DPDC supplies power to the capital's Demra and Jatrabari areas, and to Narayanganj district.

The BERC chairman said BPDB will make an additional profit of Tk 114 crore, Desco will make additional Tk 97 crore, DPDC Tk 132 crore, and WZPDC Tk 26 crore in a fiscal year, due to the price hike.

There will be no negative impact on the prices of essential commodities on the local market, as the power tariff hike is reasonable, he predicted.