Published: 09:59 AM, 10 August 2026
Causes and Remedies for Public Discontent With Electricity Bills
Dr. Md. Anwar Hossain
From July 2026 to the present, extreme anger and dissatisfaction has been observed among the general public of Bangladesh regarding electricity bills, which has become a cause of severe public suffering in recent times. According to the new order of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, which came into effect from June 2026, the average increase in electricity prices at the retail level by 16.68 percent, additional load due to intense heat, and the tendency of meter readers to create fabricated and physical bills without taking physical readings have given this public discontent an extreme form. This additional bill has been strongly criticized everywhere, from the remote areas of the eight divisions of the country to the megacity Dhaka.
There have been allegations that the bills of customers of the Dhaka division have increased by up to two times. 'Karim Mia', a resident of Mirpur, Dhaka, expressed his anger and said "How many months have the bills been coming, hey, I'm dizzy; I run the fan twice at home, the bill has come three times, if it continues like this, I'll have to go to a village outside Dhaka!" 'Rahmat Ali', a small businessman from Shitalakshya Par in Narayanganj, lamented, "The factory is not working, and on top of that, the electricity bill is hurting me, I have no choice but to die!" The level of dissatisfaction here has intensified due to additional demand charges and slab changes.
The unusual jump in electricity bills in Chittagong division has taken the breath away of the common people. Especially hoteliers in the tourist city of Cox's Bazar and ordinary residential customers in Chittagong are angry because the prepaid meters are running out of money quickly. 'Nurul Haque', a resident of Chaktai area of Chittagong, expressed his anger, "I don't use the iron or AC in my house, but the electricity bill has come so high, I don't understand what you are saying; Oh Allah, if there is no bill, it is the oppression of robbers!" 'Salim Ullah' of Cox's Bazar said in a tone of regret, "There are no tourists, business has come to a standstill, and because of this, the electricity bill has come so high, how can I feed myself and pay the bill?"
After the intense heat wave in June in Khulna division, consumers are not finding any match between the meter readings in July and the actual readings. 'Shamsur Rahman', a resident of Khalishpur, Khulna, said, "There is no name for love, at the end of the month, the bill paper is a paper, the eyes are a tree; in total, two lamps are lit, that's why they make ghost bills, oh God, there is no one in my body!" 'Atiar Rahman', a farmer from Jhikargachha, Jessore, said, "When a bill comes into the irrigation water line of the field, it is not used for farming and rice, it is all consumed by electricity!"
There have also been incidents of submitting memorandums to NESCO authorities in Rajshahi Sadar and Pabna districts of Rajshahi division. Here, people's anger has come out on the streets due to the arrival of ghost bills even amid the intensity of load shedding. Fazlu Mia, a resident of Sahebbazar in Rajshahi, said, "There is no line for two hours, but when you see the bill, it seems like we are running the AC day and night; Bapu has been calculating the bill like a man who does not know how to read lakhs, what kind of judgment is this!" 'Rafiqul Islam' of Ishwardi in Pabna said angrily, "This ghostly bill of the current is increasing, we cannot tolerate it anymore!"
'Mofizul Islam', a resident of Mahiganj in Rangpur, Rangpur division, said "A lamp and a fan are spinning in our house, that is why the bill is two thousand taka; We are poor people, we get so much money, we will die if we don't eat!" 'Kashim Uddin' from the char area of Kurigram laments, "Even if there is no electricity, the bill paper keeps getting torn, the oppression on the people of this char area must stop!"
Despite being an expatriate-dominated area, ordinary and middle-class families in Sylhet Sadar and Sunamganj districts of Sylhet division are suffering from the oppression of PDB bills. After being affected by the flood, ordinary people in the haor area of Sunamganj are seeing this July electricity bill as a blow to the dead. 'Usman Ali', a resident of Zindabazar in Sylhet, "Oh father, what about the bill, this bill is not a trick to cut our pockets; the lineman has made up a bill without seeing the meter in his mind!" Sunamganj's 'Nur Mia' said, "Haor paddy was flooded, I can't sleep because of the fear of electricity bills, this is how the justice is coming!"
There has been a lot of anger in Barisal division over the outrageous rural electricity bills and additional service charges. The common people of this riverine region are considering these additional bills as torture amid extreme financial crisis. 'Motahar Hossain', a resident of Rupatali, Barisal said "We are no longer thieves to pay so many bills, even a fan in the house does not work properly due to the voltage, but the bill has come double; how can we survive if we pay such a big bill, hey!" Patuakhali's 'Altaf Gazi' said, "If the farmers get what they earn, they will go after electricity, so I will stop eating and drinking!"
Mymensingh division customers complain that meter readers have installed units based on estimates without visiting their homes. As a result, people have been issued notices to pay two to four times more than the normal bill. ‘Abdul Quddus’, a resident of Gafargaon said Looking at the bill paper, my life is drying up, without even seeing the meter, the battalion is drawing bills from the ledger; we are farmers, where would we have paid so much!” ‘Nurjahan Begum’ from Mymensingh city expressed her anger and said, “A lamp is lit on the Polapan reading table, why are we getting so many bills, how can we cook rice!”
Finally, to achieve long-term benefits, Bangladesh should gradually reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and increase the production and use of renewable energy, such as solar power and wind power. Adding affordable, environmentally friendly electricity to the national grid will reduce the overall production cost, which will help keep the retail price of electricity stable in the long run. At the same time, a massive awareness campaign should be launched to motivate the general public to be frugal in using electricity.
The ongoing crisis over electricity bills is not just a mechanical or bureaucratic mistake, but a humanitarian issue that is closely related to the right to daily life of millions of ordinary people. It is hoped that the Electricity Department and the government will take into account the legitimate anger of the people and implement these timely remedial measures quickly. Only the right combination of transparency, accountability and people-friendly policies can resolve this deep crisis in the electricity sector and restore relief and public trust in the country.
Dr. Md. Anwar Hossain is an
essayist. He can be reached at
