BERC Sets Purchase Tariff For Merchant Solar Power

Accelerating the technological modernization of national energy transmission and catalyzing private solar infrastructure development, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has established baseline procurement tariffs and open-access wheeling charges for merchant solar power plants. Announced in an official regulatory gazette on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, the synchronized framework takes formal effect from October 2026. Designed to expand renewable integration across high-voltage utility corridors, the structure introduces transparent pricing for single-buyer off-take alongside structured wheeling tariffs for commercial direct-supply networks.

According to institutional sources, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will act as the single bulk buyer for state offtake, paying BDT 6.98 per kilowatt-hour (unit) at 33 kilovolt (kV) distribution interconnections and BDT 7.11 per unit at 132 kV transmission levels. Under the Merchant Power Policy 2025, commercial power developers may supply up to 20 percent of declared monthly generation to state utilities, leaving 80 percent eligible for direct bilateral power purchase agreements with major industrial consumers. To route commercial electricity across state transmission lines, developers must pay open-access grid wheeling tariffs ranging between BDT 1.22 and BDT 1.9097 per unit, determined by voltage parameters and delivery interfaces.

Technical details confirmed that where solar plants link directly to the national grid while end-users tap state distribution networks, overall charges stand at BDT 1.5989 per unit at 230 kV, BDT 1.6025 at 132 kV, and BDT 1.6097 at 33 kV. These rates combine pure transmission components—calculated at 37.89 paisa, 38.25 paisa, and 38.97 paisa respectively—with an off-take distribution charge of BDT 1.17 and an accounting settlement fee of 5 paisa per unit. An additional 30-paisa charge applies when operations bridge separate distribution entities. Conversely, direct delivery within a single distribution boundary without tapping the national transmission backbone incurs a flat fee of BDT 1.22 per unit, with operational system losses calculated via Power Grid real-time monthly averages.

Entity-specific distribution wheeling charges were designated at 70 paisa for BPDB, BDT 1.43 for the Rural Electrification Board, 85 paisa for DPDC, 99 paisa for DESCO, 87 paisa for WZPDCL, and BDT 1.04 for NESCO. BPDB will retain unified authority over monthly energy accounting, automated billing, and inter-utility fund disbursements. The final regulatory determination follows the public hearing held on August 23, where the Technical Evaluation Committee initially recommended BDT 6.48 per unit. The finalized tariff framework directly addresses utility concerns regarding peak industrial demand stability while preventing prohibitive wheeling costs that could stall private capital deployment across large-scale photovoltaic projects.

//DBTech/DBP/ESM/DPO//