Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Acting Secretary General Maulana ATM Masum has issued the following statement on 2nd February 2023 protesting and condemning another price hike of electricity.

The government yesterday increased the electricity price once again by 5 percent at the retail level -- the second hike in 19 days as it steadily retracts subsidies from the power sector while piling the burden on common people already struggling with inflation.

From today, the weighted average price of electricity will be Tk 7.82 per kilowatt hour, up from 7.13 kWh. That means a consumer who used to pay Tk 1,000 a month will now have to pay Tk 1,100 for consuming the same amount of electricity.

There are lots of shortages in power production. Load shedding has begun once again even before the expiry of the winter season. No factory or sector is getting power as per its demand. Under the circumstance, the decision to another power price hike is unjustified and illogical and it will definitely go against the public interest. We are severely condemning the decision.

This is not an elected government and they do not have any liability toward the people. This is why they can take frequent decisions going against public preference. In the last 14 years, the government has increased power prices at the retail level 12 times and bulk power price 11 times. The decision on power price will make a negative impact on everything. It will increase mass suffering, thwart industrial growth and also foil industrial production. Overall, the national economy will face trouble with this decision.

I am urging the government to reconsider its decision for the sake of the public interest and also to repeal the decision for protecting the industrial sector.