The government has pledged to bring influential figures accused of benefiting from alleged irregularities in the power and energy sector to justice, as it seeks to address the financial burden left by past policies and provide relief to consumers facing rising energy costs.

The government is bearing the burden of alleged theft and smuggling committed during the previous Awami League administration, Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan said on Saturday.

He alleged that these actions had contributed to the pressure currently faced by people across the country in relation to electricity and energy costs.

The minister made the remarks at a press briefing on the power and energy sector held at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka.

He said the government had been able to shield around 65 per cent of consumers from the impact of electricity tariff increases through timely policy interventions.

As part of these measures, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) revised electricity tariffs for lifeline and marginal consumers, restoring them to previous levels.

The tariff for lifeline consumers was reset at Tk 4.63 per unit (kilowatt-hour), while the rate for marginal consumers was fixed at Tk 5.26 per unit, down from Tk 5.32 and Tk 6.32 per unit respectively.

The lifeline and marginal consumers constitute about 65 per cent of power subscribers. The resetting of the tariffs, thus, will exempt them from price-hike burden, said the minister.

Speaking at the briefing, the Prime Minister's Information Adviser, Dr Zahed Ur Rahman, said those who had benefited as oligarchs in the power and energy sector would be brought to justice in due course.

"The government is taking the necessary steps to initiate action against them," he said.

He alleged that the energy sector had been kept heavily dependent on imports in order to benefit a small group of influential business interests.

Dr Rahman said that although BERC had approved higher electricity tariffs, the government had withdrawn the increase for consumers using between 0 and 75 units of electricity to protect low- and middle-income households.

He added that while the prices of octane and petrol had been increased by Tk 5 per litre in the latest adjustment, the government had refrained from raising diesel prices in the second phase for the same reason.

azizjst@yahoo.com