The state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board is likely to submit a proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission soon seeking upward adjustments in the rates of power for both retail and bulk consumers.

PDB officials said that the proposal would seek to increase tariffs by over Tk 1.00 per unit for consumers gulping over 400 units and less for those consuming less than 400 units.

The proposal would recommend raising bulk electricity tariff by Tk 1.20 to 1.50 per kilowatt hour, added the officials while highlighting recommendations by the  Power Division for approval.

The move comes a fortnight after the government on April 18 increased the prices of fuel oils by 15 per cent and above to set the new price of diesel, among others, at Tk 115 per litre despite the inflation remaining at elevated over 8 per cent on average in the past 12 months.

While the fuel oil prices were increased by an executive order, the latest move to increase power tariffs would be decided by BERC reviews.

The PDB has been grappling with a widening gap between the costs of electricity generation at expensive and unbroken structures built by the ousted Awami League regime and the prices paid by consumers. 

The government has already allocated Tk 36,000 crore in subsidies for the power sector, while another Tk 15,000 crore will be needed amid the surging prices of energy items because of the prolonged war in the Persian Gulf.

Last time, in March 2024, the BERC ordered for upward adjustment in electricity tariffs at the retail level by Tk 0.34 to Tk 0.70.