ASIFUR RAHMAN

The government is planning to charge 21 profitable Palli Bidyut Samitys (PBSs) higher bulk electricity purchase rates.

Officials and energy experts warn that, if followed through, it could destabilise the decades-old cross-subsidy system that keeps rural power distribution running across the country.

In the cross-subsidy system, surplus revenues from industrial‑heavy PBSs are distributed to loss‑making residential‑focused rural PBSs.

As part of the ongoing electricity tariff review, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) in a proposal submitted to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) identified the profit-making PBSs and proposed treating them in the same way as urban power distribution companies.

Officials at the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (REB) said the proposal could disrupt the internal financial balancing mechanism as the PBSs that generate surplus revenues support weaker PBSs, allowing all 80 PBSs under REB to run despite mounting losses in rural electricity supply.

“In reality, the profitable PBSs are sustaining the entire rural distribution structure,” an REB official told The Daily Star, requesting anonymity as the matter remains under regulatory review.

According to documents submitted to the BERC, 13 PBSs transferred a combined Tk 3,515 crore to 65 other PBSs in the 2024-25 fiscal year to offset operational losses, stemming largely from lower residential tariffs and a large number of subsidised consumers.

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