Sofian Khan
The Chairman of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced that power tariffs will be increased by 5.3% or Tk. 0.35 per unit. The regulatory body of BERC announced this decision at 3 pm on Thursday suggesting the new price may take effect from December. Left parties (The Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh and the Ganatantrik Bam Morcha) in response to this have called a half-day general strike on November 30. If the government steps up with the BERC’s decision then left parties have threatened to call the strike at a rally on Wednesday. On the other hand, BNP Spokesperson Rizvi Ahmed said that this has only been done for more money to plunder. He termed the current government “Bloodsucker” as it is planning to increase the power tariff again though the oil price has gone down in the international market. Since Awami League government came to power, this is the 8th time that cost of electricity increased. Although this time, the power price only increased at retail levels. Wholesale customers will not have to deal with the new tariffs. Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) therefore opposed the new decision. They proposed to reduce the bulk power tariff by taka 1.32 per unit. Earlier the Power Development Board (PDB) wanted a 15 percent raise in power tariff for bulk level electricity. The current bulk tariff of per unit electricity is 4.90 taka.