UP Chairman to file case against private power supplier, residents demand PDB supply.
Saint Martin’s Island. File Photo: Rashed Kabir/Unplash
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Saint Martin’s Island. File Photo: Rashed Kabir/Unplash
Highlights:
- St Martin’s residents protest Tk10 electricity tariff hike by sole private supplier
- Commercial electricity rates have risen to Tk76 per unit, nearly five times the national rates
- Residents allege tariff hikes despite receiving only two to three hours daily
- UP chairman announces electricity boycott and plans legal action against supplier
- Blue Marine blames rising demand and fuel costs for latest tariff increase
Residents and businesses on St Martin’s Island are protesting a Tk10 increase in electricity tariffs by the island’s sole private supplier, Blue Marine Energy Limited, taking the commercial rate to Tk76 per unit – nearly five times the national rate.
Effective from 1 November, the revised tariffs are Tk65 for residential consumers and Tk76 for commercial users. Residents say the company raised the rates without consulting them, despite supplying electricity for only two to three hours a day.
Foyezul Islam, chairman of St Martin’s Union Parishad, has announced a boycott of the company’s electricity and plans to file a case against it. Residents and stakeholders are to meet today to decide next steps.
Infograph: TBS
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Infograph: TBS
Repeated hikes, limited supply
Under Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission tariffs, residential consumers nationwide pay Tk5.26 per unit for the first 75 units, rising to Tk17.35 at the highest slab. Commercial users pay Tk15.36.
Blue Marine initially charged residential and commercial customers Tk32 and Tk42 per unit, respectively. It raised both rates by Tk5 in June 2022 and by another Tk10 in 2023, citing plans to ensure uninterrupted supply.
Residents say the service instead deteriorated, with only three to four hours of daily electricity between 2021 and 2026.
They also allege that up to Tk350 has been deducted at times from every Tk1,000 recharge under unspecified charges. Businessman Abu Taher said the island’s roughly 10,000 residents cannot afford effective rates of Tk74-Tk82 per unit and want government-supplied electricity.
Ward 6 member Syed Alam said residents would welcome PDB supply, suggesting submarine cables or rooftop solar installations as alternatives.
Company cites higher demand
Blue Marine engineer Mohammad Shihab said the arrival of battery-powered three-wheelers had increased demand beyond the solar project’s capacity. The company plans to run generators during the tourist season, and higher fuel costs prompted the latest Tk10 increase, he said.
System engineer Mohammad Rafiqul Islam confirmed the hike had been finalised.
Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer SM Anik Chowdhury said the company had not informed the administration of the increase, despite previously saying it would consult residents. The administration is looking into the matter, he added.
Government supply stalled for 32 years
The country’s only coral island has had no functioning government-run electricity supply for 32 years. The Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) established a two-generator power plant on five acres in Paschim Uttarpara in the 1980s, supplying around 600 customers for a few evening hours.
A cyclone in May 1994 heavily damaged the facility, bringing down more than 150 poles and snapping power lines. The plant was never restored.
Later, Blue Marine Energy set up a 250-kilowatt solar project on nearly two acres in Konarpara on 1 February 2019. Built at a cost of around Tk20 crore with 915 panels, it now serves about 1,000 customers, including 140 hotels, 20 restaurants, 600 households, 157 shops, six irrigation pumps and 15 electric vehicle charging points.
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