Editorial
Restoring common lowest slab
Implement it immediately
We welcome the news that the government is considering restoring the common lowest slab facility for all consumers. This is an overriding issue which we think should have been addressed much before. With the common lowest slab withdrawn since March, consumers now are faced with a steep rise in their monthly electricity bills at a time when spiraling prices of essentials are adding to their woes. In the month of Ramadan, the situation has only worsened. Therefore, instead of merely thinking about it, the government must immediately implement it and restore the common lowest slab facility in order to relieve consumers of hefty electricity bills.
Before the common lowest slab, consumers had to pay a mandatory minimum bill and additional bill for consumption above the 100 units mark. Whereas now, there has been a change in the power tariff structure according to which consumers have to pay at three different rates depending on their consumption per month without any common slab, i.e. consumers using below 100 units pay Tk 3.05 per kilowatt; those using above 100 units and below 400 units pay Tk 4.29 per unit and those above 400 units Tk 7.89 per unit.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has so far justified this rate by repetitively stating that it was necessary to reduce pressure on government subsidies for power generation. It has also come up with the explanation of increased production cost of power from fuel-based rental plants following rise in oil prices in international market. As we have said in this column before, increased production cost was the result of the government's policy on rental power generation, which should not be passed on to the common people. Therefore, we think the government's plan to restore the common lowest slab should be translated into reality without further delay
BERC was established to bridge the gap between the producers and consumers of power. However, we have so far found it concerned only with the producers' concerns and not with the consumers' plight. We hope that it will also be equally concerned with the consumers' woes.
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