The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Wednesday increased the retail power tariff by Tk 1.52 per kilowatt hour.

The new retail electricity price, effective from June 1, has been set at Tk 10.63 per kWh, up from Tk 9.11 per kWh.

The announcement was made by BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed at his office in the capital.

The commission also raised the bulk power tariff to Tk 8.39 per kWh from Tk 7.00 per kWh.

Besides, the wheeling charge of Power Grid Bangladesh PLC has been increased to Tk 0.3886 per kWh from Tk 0.3135 per kWh.

The BERC order says that the current wholesale price has been increased from Tk 7 to an average price of 8 taka 39 paisa. And at the retail level, the average price per unit has increased from Tk 9.11 to Tk 10.63.

On the other hand, the transmission cost (average) has been increased from 31 paisa to about 39 paisa per unit.

The sole electricity transmission company, PGCB (Power Grid Bangladesh PLC), proposed an increase from 30 and 31 paisa to 48 and 49 paisa per unit respectively.

The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) proposed for an increase in the price per unit from Tk 1.20 (17 percent) to Tk 1.50 (21 percent).

The price increase application states that the potential production cost of electricity in the 2026-27 fiscal year will be about Tk 1,43,108 crore.

On February 29, 2024, electricity prices were increased at the consumer level by 8.5 percent. At the same time, the wholesale price was increased by 5 percent from Tk 6.70 to Tk 7.04.

This is the first revision of electricity tariffs since 2024.

Earlier on May 21, BERC concluded a two-day public hearing on proposals for retail and bulk tariff hikes amid criticism from rights groups, academics, business representatives and political leaders.