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Power price to go up again

PDB proposes 11 pc at bulk level

Md Fazlur Rahman
The Power Development Board (PDB) yesterday sent a proposal to the energy regulator to increase electricity price by Tk 0.41 per unit or 11 percent for bulk users, officials said.
Salim Mahmud, a member of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), last night confirmed that the commission had received the proposal.
"The fuel cost has gone up following the rise in petroleum price in December last year. So, PDB has sent us a proposal to adjust the cost," he told The Daily Star.
"On March 19, we may hold a hearing to be participated by all stakeholders. If PDB can prove that their
proposal is logical, we will increase the price, ” he said.
The power board has requested that the new rates take effect from March 1, Salim added.
The proposal came less than one and a half months after electricity tariff for bulk consumers increased by 14.37 percent to Tk 3.74 per kilowatt-hour on February 1.
In November last year, BERC hiked electricity tariff for bulk users by 33.57 percent on an average to reduce mounting losses incurred by thePDB.
As a result, the bulk tariff went up by 16.79 percent or Tk 0.47 per unit on an average from December 1, 2011, in the first phase. The raise in the second phase came into effect two months later.
Salim said the subsidies to run petroleum-based power plants had gone up following the latest rise in oil prices in the international market. "Our laws say we can adjust the tariff if fuel costs go up."
State-run distribution entities Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd, Dhaka Electric Supply Company, Rural Electrification Board and West Zone Power Distribution Company are thePDB'sbulkbuyers.
The BERC official also said the retail tariff adjustment would, as usual, follow the hike in bulk tariffs.
"We will analyse the impact of bulk tariff hike. Then we will come up with a decision on retail tariff hike," he said.
The retail tariff of electricity went up by Tk 0.31 per unit from February 1, taking the per unit price toTk 5.02.
It came two months after the price per unit soared by 13.24 percent to Tk 4.71 from Tk 4.16 on December 1 last year for retail users.
The tariff hikes are part of the government move to slash the subsidies for electricitygeneration.
In the current fiscal year, the government is set to allocate Tk 20,000 crore in subsidies for the power sector, according to official estimates.