The government will increase power tariffs at a “reasonable” rate in consultation with businesspeople amid the energy crisis, Salman F Rahman has said.
Speaking at a seminar of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Dhaka on Tuesday, the prime minister’s adviser on private industry and investment said a rise in gas prices is hampering electricity production, reports bdnews24.com.
“It’s not a problem unique to Bangladesh. Many countries are facing the same issue,” he said.
“The businesspeople have been asked for the maximum rate at which they can buy power. And the government will also review how much subsidy it can provide to the power sector.”
“Some businesses have informed me about their desired rate. Now let’s see how much the price can be raised,” Salman said.
The government reintroduced rolling blackouts in July following a gas shortage fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine war. It also raised gas and fuel oil prices to save the depleted foreign currency reserves. The power crisis has worsened recently after a national grid failure.
FBCCI’s Motijheel office, the venue of the seminar, suffered a power cut some eight minutes into Salman’s speech when he was speaking about the electricity crisis. The organisers then restored supply with an electricity generator.
