Power distribution companies on Thursday submitted proposals to revise retail electricity tariffs to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), with proposed distribution costs ranging from Tk 0.85 to Tk 2.05 per unit.
However, the regulator’s technical committee recommended lower cost calculations, while consumer rights activists and citizen groups urged the government to focus on reducing inefficiencies in the power sector instead of increasing tariffs for consumers.
The proposals were presented on the final day of a two-day public hearing on electricity tariff adjustments held at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh auditorium in Dhaka. The hearing was chaired by BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC), Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO), West Zone Power Distribution Company (WZPDCL), and Northern Electricity Supply Company (NESCO) submitted separate proposals for retail tariff revisions for the 2025–26 fiscal year.
According to the proposals, BPDB estimated its distribution cost at Tk 0.85 per unit, BREB at Tk 1.77, DPDC at Tk 1.54, DESCO at Tk 1.98, WZPDCL at Tk 1.39, and NESCO at Tk 2.05 per unit.
However, the BERC technical evaluation committee said the weighted average net distribution cost of the six entities stood at Tk 1.25 per unit, lower than several of the proposed rates.
The committee estimated BPDB’s net distribution cost at Tk 0.75 per unit, BREB’s at Tk 1.39, DPDC’s at Tk 1.18, DESCO’s at Tk 1.16, WZPDCL’s at Tk 1.33, and NESCO’s at Tk 1.43.
It said the combined net distribution cost of the six entities for FY2025–26 was estimated at Tk 11,927 crore against projected electricity sales of 95,613 million units.
The committee also said the six utilities together served more than 49.8 million customers as of March 2026, including over 42.5 million residential consumers and nearly 28 million lifeline users. BREB accounted for the largest share, with more than 39.1 million customers.
In its observations, the technical committee cautioned against reducing the approved load limit for low-tension consumers from 80 kilowatts to 50 kilowatts without first conducting a regulatory impact assessment through an independent research body or third party.
The committee also said private educational institutions, hospitals, and medical colleges should not be classified as commercial consumers for tariff purposes.
It further observed that excess load for non-demand meter consumers should not be determined solely on the basis of electricity consumption patterns. Instead, utilities could conduct periodic load measurements or gradually introduce demand meters.
The committee also recommended considering a flat residential tariff for slum-area consumers and suggested introducing measures to prevent commercial charging of auto-rickshaws through residential electricity connections.
Citizen groups oppose proposed tariff hike
Following the presentations, stakeholders strongly opposed any fresh increase in electricity prices, saying consumers should not be forced to bear the burden of inefficiency, system losses, inflated project costs, and capacity payments.
Several speakers argued that the power sector should not operate as a profit-oriented business and called for structural reforms to make the sector more consumer-friendly.
Daffodil International University teacher Syed Mizanur Rahman criticised the inclusion of rate of return and corporate taxes in electricity pricing.
“Monopoly public services should operate on a cost-to-cost basis, not on a cost-plus model,” he said, adding that the government should not adopt a profit-driven approach in the power sector.
Former Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince said BERC should hold hearings on reducing electricity prices instead of increasing them.
He also proposed free electricity for poor consumers using up to 75 units per month and criticised the proposed slab revisions, alleging that they would place additional pressure on lower- and middle-income consumers.
Dhaka University teacher Mosahida Sultana said utilities should explain how they intended to reduce electricity costs rather than merely justify tariff increases.
She also called for a reassessment of contracts with independent power producers and rental power plants, saying excessive capacity charges had become a major financial burden on the sector.
Jahangirnagar University teacher Jebunnesa said increasing tariffs without addressing corruption, inefficiency, and administrative costs within utilities would not resolve the sector’s underlying problems.
Representing the Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers Association, Mohammad Jahangir Alam said large industrial consumers had developed substations and connection infrastructure using their own funds and therefore should not be subjected to system-loss charges and excessive demand charges.
Shuvo Kibria of Consumer Association of Bangladesh criticised the absence of a renewable energy perspective in the utilities’ proposals.
He said distribution companies viewed net metering and renewable energy as threats to electricity sales instead of opportunities for long-term sustainability and consumer benefit.
At the end of the hearing, BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed said all opinions, documents, and data submitted during the hearing would be considered before a final decision is made. He invited stakeholders to submit additional written observations by May 23.
He also warned that future power, gas, and oil sector projects involving financial liabilities must obtain BERC’s opinion before being sent to the Planning Commission.
Referring to capacity payments, he said the subsidy burden had risen sharply because of capacity charges, describing the issue as “harmful for the nation.” He added that protecting consumer interests remained one of the commission’s core responsibilities.