Power division sources said they had no choice but to increase the power tariff as the donor agencies had been mounting pressure on the government to raise the power tariffs.

Sources said the Asian Development Bank recently said it would provide financial support to set up power generation units if the government raised the power tariffs. The government hiked the tariffs following the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission.

The coalition government had previously raised the power tariffs in September 2003.

The tariff will remain unchanged for those residential consumers who use electricity up to 100 units, as per the new circular from the power division.

According to the new prices, the power tariff increased to Tk 3.15 from the existing Tk 3 per unit for those residential consumers who consume more than 100 units to 400 units while per unit tariff will be Tk 5.25 instead of Tk 5 for those using above 401 units of electricity.

The tariff for irrigation purposes was raised to Tk 1.93 per unit from the existing Tk 1.84 per unit.

For small industries, the flat rate per unit will be Tk 4.02 during peak hours, which is currently at Tk 3.83. During off-peak hours, the tariff will be Tk 3.20 against the current Tk 3.05, and during peak hours it will be Tk 5.62, which is at Tk 5.36 now.

Power tariff for non-residential consumers was raised to Tk 3.35 per unit from the existing Tk 3.20.

For commercial consumers, the flat rate of power will be Tk 5.30 per unit against the current Tk 5.04. During the off peak hours, the price will be Tk 3.80 against the current Tk 3.60 and in peak hours Tk 8.20 against the current Tk 7.82.