Energy Bangla

The state minister for power, energy and mineral resources has cited the increase in people’s incomes and use of technology to justify the government’s plan to hike the prices of electricity.
The power prices were last increased in March after the Awami League came to power for the second consecutive term.
Now the government is considering another hike in the face of the BNP’s threat to start a non-stop movement to protest the plan.
“We will adjust the power rates. People earn more, usage of technology is also increasing. Power prices will have to be adjusted accordingly,” Nasrul Hamid Bipu on Saturday said in a closing address at an electricity fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.
Meanwhile, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at a rally earlier in the day threatened intense agitation from the very next day if rates of gas and electricity were raised.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has already announced that it was working on such proposal.
Reached for comment, BERC member Selim Mahmud told bdnews24.com: “We’ve received a proposal to raise the prices. A hearing may take place at the end of this month or the next month.”
They were also mulling a proposal to hike gas price, he added.
The government in March raised power tariff by 6.96 percent on an average.