Consumers’ groups oppose it, demand system loss cut
The Rural Electrification Board Wednesday made a submission to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission to raise its tariff by 11.52 per cent on average.
But, different consumer right groups, opposing the plea, demanded elimination of the REB’s existing system loss and improvement in the customer services.
The contradictory views came from the respective sides during a BERC-convened public hearing at the watchdog’s head office in the city.
At present, the residential retail power tariff is Tk 2.50 per unit from zero unit to 100 unit (kilowatt hour), Tk 3.15 from 101 unit to 400 unit and Tk 5.25 per unit from 401 and beyond.
The REB proposed to increase the price by 15.19 per cent from zero to 100 units, 26.19 per cent from 101 to 300 units and 18.24 per cent from 301 to 500 units and beyond.
After the hearing, the BERC acting chairman announced that the watchdog body would announce its judgement within 90 working days on the issue.
Proposing its retail power tariff, the REB, responsible for electricity distribution in rural areas, said it had been incurring huge losses since the enhancement in bulk power tariff by 15 per cent.
The Power Development Board increased the bulk power tariff in December this year with approval from the BERC. The REB buys electricity in bulk from the PDB, and sells it in retail to its customers.
Participating in the hearing, REB chairman Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam said the REB had 70 rural electricity cooperatives known as Pally Bidyut Samity.
The REB through the PBSs sells electricity to rural consumers. But now about 64 PBSs are incurring losses and facing cash crunch in running their service following the bulk price hike.
After 2002, he said, the REB has never gone for any hike in electricity tariff. But now it has been difficult to sustain if the power tariff is not increased.
A number of consumer right groups, including Consumers Association of Bangladesh, Consumers’ Group, FBCCI, DCCI, took part in the hearing.
Opposing the REB plea, CAB representative Professor M Shamsul Alam said the rural electricity agency had been incurring losses in business because of its huge system loss. ‘In some of the PBSs, the system loss is more than 30 per cent which is in no way allowable.’
He said the REB appeal could only be considered after calculating system loss at 10 per cent which is allowable from technical point of view.
He also argued that the REB has not made any commitment in its submission to improve the customer service if it is allowed to increase its tariff.
After concluding the hearing, BERC acting chairman Mokhlesul Rahman Khondaker said the watchdog body would announce its judgement with 90 working days from the submission of the REB appeal.
Like REB, the other electricity distribution agencies, including DESCO, DPDC, PDB and WZPDC, have made similar submissions to increase the power tariff.
But the BERC is yet to announce any decision on the pending appeals.
Courtesy of UNB . Dhaka /NewAgebd
