Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission
Profile
- Head
- Jalal Ahmed
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 2003
- Legal basis
- Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act, 2003 (Act No. 13 of 2003), gazetted 13 March 2003; operationally constituted 27 April 2004 with appointment of Chairman and Members by the President on the advice of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources
The BERC is under intense pressure to approve significant electricity tariff hikes to reduce government subsidies while balancing the fiscal requirements against the risk of fueling inflation.
Recent activity
- 2026-05-06 regulation BERC announced public hearings for May 20–21 regarding wholesale, transmission, and retail electricity tariff hike proposals. ↗↗
- 2026-05-17 statement BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed held a discussion with stakeholders to emphasize public awareness and safety in the LPG sector. ↗
Provenance & notes
BERC was legally constituted under BERC Act 2003 (Act No. 13 of 2003), gazetted March 13, 2003, and became operationally active on April 27, 2004 with the first appointment of Chairman and Members. It is an independent statutory quasi-judicial body; the BERC Act defines its supervising 'Ministry' as the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, with administrative linkage to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD), while the user-specified parent_id_ref 'Power Division' reflects the broader ministry structure. Chairman Jalal Ahmed -- a BCS 1982 batch civil servant with 36+ years of service including as Petrobangla chairman -- was appointed August 22, 2024 (per circular signed by Energy Division secretary Nurul Alam) following the August 5, 2024 political transition; appointment is for three years with rank equivalent to an Appellate Division judge. Current wholesale electricity rate of Tk 7.04/kWh and average retail rate of Tk 8.95/kWh are from BPDB's own tariff petition cited in multiple outlets (Dhaka Tribune, The Daily Star, bdnews24) in May 2026. The 17-21% range corresponds to Tk 1.20-1.50/unit proposals. The May 20-21 hearings are verified across 4 independent outlets (Dhaka Tribune, bdnews24, Financial Express, Prothom Alo). LPG monthly price figures verified from BSS, The Daily Star, TBS, and bdnews24. Gas tariff for new industries (Tk 40/cu m effective April 13, 2025) verified from S&P Global and TBS. Fertiliser gas tariff review (Petrobangla proposal for Tk 40/cu m from Tk 16/cu m) is ongoing as of May 2026.
Sources
- https://berc.org.bd/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Energy_Regulatory_Commission
- https://www.iea.org/policies/5526-act-2003-establishing-bangladesh-energy-regulatory-commission
- https://climate-laws.org/document/the-bangladesh-energy-regulatory-commission-berc-act-2003_191f
- https://berc.org.bd/sites/default/files/files/berc.portal.gov.bd/law/5a4ee42b_258c_496f_abc8_eeaea60bcc37/BERC%20Act%202003%20(English).pdf
- https://berc.portal.gov.bd/site/office_head/58738205-08a8-40d4-a65c-66e71083ea6d
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/energy/jalal-ahmed-appointed-chairman-berc-923231
- https://www.thedailystar.net/environment/natural-resources/energy/news/jalal-ahmed-appointed-new-berc-chairman-3684011
- https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2aecec7ce7b4
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/power-energy/409547/process-begins-to-raise-electricity-prices-public
- https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/d95837247e9c
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/home/public-hearing-on-power-tariff-hike-from-may-20
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/power-tariff-hike-looms-4169616
- https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/v7gjbn15p5
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/electricity-gas-prices-be-fixed-through-public-hearings-again-sources-920826
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/environment/natural-resources/energy/news/berc-hikes-lpg-price-again-12kg-cylinder-now-tk-1940-4155231
- https://www.thedailystar.net/environment/natural-resources/energy/news/lpg-price-cut-12-kg-cylinder-now-tk-1341-4113886
- https://www.bssnews.net/business/365552
- https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/be01f0d39ec9
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/lpg-price-march-fixed-tk11174-kg-12kg-cylinder-remains-tk1341-1376001
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/consumers-worsening-lpg-woes-4142276
- https://www.spglobal.com/energy/en/news-research/latest-news/lng/041425-bangladesh-raises-gas-tariff-for-new-industries-to-meet-import-costs
- https://emrd.gov.bd/site/page/24fd1c8a-05b3-4797-af9b-22673e2d8fd0/www.berc.org.bd