Readers Respond

Here are some comments that came in response to Sunday's The Daily Star news report headlined “Electricity bill shocking”

Kamal Chowdhury
We demand the previous system.

Zakir, Narsingdi
Government should increase electricity production.

Monir
It is difficult to pay this exorbitant bill. The increase is not 50 percent; it is more than 100 percent!

Badal Hasib
People are the ultimate victims.

Turja, Canada
Promote energy conservation. Still the rate is very low compared to the other countries. A large number of connections are still illegal. Government should be aware of this as it cannot afford to pay more subsidies.

Arman Aziz
The load-shedding problem of the country cannot be solved by giving high subsidies. Households that are using more than 400 KW per month fall into upper middle class or upper class segment. Tk. 3000 monthly bill should be affordable for them. I personally fall in this category and my monthly bill has increased three fold in last three months. But I support the new tariff structure.

Nasarullah
This unethical rise of price has put many of us under acute financial crisis. But electricity comes and goes, there is no stability. We are also paying higher rate for running generators.

Shawkat Osman
The way electricity charge is being increased every month, very soon people of limited means would have to cut down or totally stop their consumption or even go back to the days of lantern. This might give the government a chance to meet the demand as the total demand will fall drastically.

Kushal
The price is affecting me personally. But I understand that the government can not continue to give subsidies. The price of oil and subsequently the price of power are rising all over the world. People who are consuming more than 400 units must be either a big family or a family who use such luxuries like AC, washing machine etc. They should pay for the luxuries they enjoy.

Ataur Rahman
I think this is justified. With subsidy in electricity who gets the benefit? It is mostly the privileged population who enjoy electricity supply. I think 60% of the country's population will not bother as they always live in darkness.

Ali
Electricity bills for the last six months are ever increasing! The rise is not shocking but killing, when the prices of all other items in the market for daily use (food in particular) are already highest ever! The government t has to be more creative in its policy. Mere subsidies are not enough. There has to be a long term survival plan chalked out and implemented for a real solution.

Anonymous
It is said that power tariffs in Bangladesh were the lowest in the sub-continent. True, and that is why we should not complain about high electricity prices. Those who keep track of international economic conditions will know that oil prices are high and as such it has a hand in driving up electricity charges. The government is actually doing well to keep our unit price low while reducing load-shedding. A productive alternative for consumers might be to be creative in reducing electricity costs (by introducing e.g. solar panels, energy saving lights, LCD screens, floor fans, hand-held air conditioners).