The government is planning to introduce quality-based power price by way of which people could get uninterrupted power supply with proper voltage by paying higher while others may have to experience power outages and other related problems.
The state-run Power Development Board worked out a new price chart consistent with the cost of fuel oil-fired power offering consumers better quality and uninterrupted power.
According to the proposal, the distribution agencies will realise power price ranging between Tk 12 and Tk 13.5 a unit (kilowatt-hour) from all levels of consumers who want to get uninterrupted supply and better quality power.
A PDB official, however, said that power consumers were connected to 230kv, 132kv and 33kv transmission lines. 'In that case,
initially big industries and a few commercial consumers will get the advantage. For others, new dedicated power lines will have to be laid out,' he added.
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission in the past week took cognisance of the proposal of retail power price increase submitted by the power board where the board proposed that the commission should set the new price chart with added facilities that were not in the current scheme.
With the proposal, the government is trying to introduce a new tariff policy for power distribution where the quality of power is also considered a factor linked to the financial capacity of the consumers, another PDB official said.
According to the existing tariff policy, all consumers are treated equally in the quality of power without making any discrimination between higher and lower payers.
A few officials and experts concerned said that power outage and other quality problems would increase for consumers who would not be able to pay higher for power if the BERC approved such a tariff policy.
Asked about the government's move, power expert Shamsul Alam, who also represents the Consumers Association of Bangladesh in the power and energy sector, said that it would require a fresh tariff policy.
In addition to the Power Development Board, there are four other state-run power distribution agencies — Dhaka Power Distribution Company, Dhaka Electricity Supply Company, Rural Electrification Board and West Zone Power Distribution Company and the four did not demand such a new price chart with in their proposal for the retail power price increased by the energy regulatory commission.
The power distribution agencies expect that the commission would increase the power price in December as the commission earlier increased the bulk price of power in two phases — by 11 per cent with effect from February 1 and by 6.66 per cent with effect from August 1.
BD Rahmatullah, former director general of the Power Cell, said that the power board's proposal was nothing but a trick to increase power prices.
'The government helped a few businessmen, policymakers and bureaucrats to make money with power generation initiatives from fuel oil-fired rental power plants which increased generation cost. Now the government will pay the bill either from the state exchequer or by increasing power price,' he alleged.
He said that the government, in an unsolicited way, awarded 18 rental power projects of installed capacity about 1,500MW only for corruption.
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