Electricity bill guides for Bangladesh: understand every taka
Six plain-English guides on reading your bill, finding why it is high, prepaid meters, peak and off-peak pricing, saving units and tariff categories. Every example uses the official BERC rates.
All guides
Each guide has worked examples, a table you can check, an FAQ and a sources list.
Read your bill, field by field
Every field on a DESCO, DPDC or Palli Bidyut bill, then a full check of the total.
Read the guide 02Why your bill is high, and what to check
Nine checks for a bill that looks too high, with the real cost of each cause.
Read the guide 03Prepaid meter guide
Where each recharge goes, the smallest first recharge, and what the meter codes do.
Read the guide 04Peak and off-peak tariff
The hours, the rates and the peak share where time-of-day pricing stops saving you money.
Read the guide 05Lower your bill
What one saved unit is worth at each slab, and a 30-day plan to find your big loads.
Read the guide 06Which tariff category are you in
LT, MT, HT and EHT categories, with the cost of each on the same usage.
Read the guideYour bill in 60 seconds
Total = (Energy charge + Demand charge + Meter rent − Prepaid rebate) × 1.05Energy charge: units priced through your slabs. Demand charge: sanctioned kW × ৳42 for a home.Homes pay ৳4.63 per unit up to 50 units. Above that, units 1 to 75 cost ৳5.26, 76 to 200 cost ৳8.50, 201 to 300 cost ৳9.10, 301 to 400 cost ৳9.62, 401 to 600 cost ৳15.01, and units above 600 cost ৳17.35. Try your own units in the bill calculator.
Words on your bill
Unit (kWh)
One kilowatt of power used for one hour. Your meter counts units.
Sanctioned load
The power your connection is approved for, in kW. It sets the demand charge.
Demand charge
A fixed amount per kW each month. You pay it even with zero use.
Slab
A band of units with its own price. Home slabs rise as use rises.
Lifeline
The ৳4.63 rate for homes that use 50 units or less in the month.
Peak and off-peak
Time-of-day rates for some categories: peak is 5 pm to 11 pm.
LT, MT, HT, EHT
Voltage families: low tension, 11 kV, 33 kV, and 132 or 230 kV.
Prepaid rebate
0.5% off the net bill, not counting VAT, for prepaid meters.
Guide questions
Which guide should I read first?
Start with How to read your bill. It shows every field and rebuilds a full bill in five steps. Then read Why your bill is high if the total looks wrong.
Are these guides based on official rates?
Yes. Rates come from BERC Order 2026/22 of 3 June 2026 and the 4 June 2026 change that kept the first two home slabs at 4.63 and 5.26 taka. DPDC lists the same rates on its tariff page.
Do these guides replace my electricity company?
No. They explain how bills work and give estimates. Your printed bill and your company are the final word.
How often are the guides checked?
Each guide shows the date it was last checked. This set was checked on 7 October 2026 against the BERC order and company pages.
Do the guides work for DESCO, DPDC, NESCO, BPDB, WZPDCL and Palli Bidyut?
Yes for rates, because BERC sets one tariff for all companies. Meter reading dates, apps, hotlines and prepaid meter codes depend on your company, and the guides say so where it matters.
This is an independent site, not BERC or an electricity company. See our disclaimer. Last checked 7 October 2026.