Electricity prices for commercial solar power plants are set
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The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has fixed the purchase price of electricity from renewable energy-based commercial power plants and the fees for transmitting that electricity to transmission lines.
Distribution companies will purchase electricity from privately built solar power plants at rates ranging from Tk 6.98 to Tk 7.11 per unit. The commission announced in a notice today that this order will take effect from October.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will purchase electricity generated by commercial solar-based plants for distribution companies at Tk 6.98 per unit at the 33 kV level and Tk 7.11 per unit at the 132 kV level.
Fees have also been determined so that commercial plants can transmit and distribute this electricity. For transmission line fees, Power Grid Bangladesh will be paid Tk 0.3789 per unit at the 230 kV level, Tk 0.3825 at 132 kV, and Tk 0.3897 at 33 kV.
In the case of distribution lines, two types of fees have been fixed. If the distribution entity is different at the point of delivery to the grid, Tk 0.30 per unit must be paid at the 132, 33, 11, and 0.40 kV levels. At the point of receiving electricity, the fee is Tk 1.17 per unit at all levels from 230 kV to 0.40 kV.
For centralized coordination and billing of electricity generated by renewable plants, the BPDB's coordination and settlement fee as the single buyer has been set at Tk 0.05 per unit. The operational procedure, billing structure, electricity accounting and settlement terms have also been specified in the order.
The commission said that on April 1, the Bangladesh Power Development Board submitted an integrated proposal in this regard. Later, between July 7 and July 30, Power Grid Bangladesh and six distribution companies submitted separate proposals. After reviewing all proposals, a public hearing was held on August 23. The order was issued after analyzing the applications of the proposing parties, the documents submitted, and everyone's statements at the hearing.
The government has taken various initiatives to expand renewable energy in the country. One of them is the merchant power plant, or commercial power plant. Under this new system, large industries and exporting companies can bypass the government system and directly negotiate prices with private producers to buy electricity. In this case, the price will be set by the buyer and seller, while BERC will set the price for electricity purchased by government distribution companies.
Up to 20 percent of the electricity generated from this can be sold to distribution companies. Another major advantage of this system is that a solar power plant can be set up anywhere in the country and supply electricity to any destination. In that case, the prescribed fees must be paid to BERC.
The government published the 'Policy for Increasing Private Participation in Renewable Energy-Based Power Generation, 2025' in the gazette in October 2025. For the first time, it gave legal recognition to commercial power plants, direct power purchase agreements with buyers, and the use of the national grid.
Solar, wind, biomass, waste-to-energy, and other clean sources have been considered 'green' commercial plants in the policy. To operate a plant, a generation license from BERC is required, and the policy states that the government will protect investors if they suffer losses due to changes in law or policy.
