Electricity Bill Calculator

How your electricity bill is calculated

A home electricity bill in Bangladesh has four parts:

Bill = energy charge (slab by slab) + demand charge + meter rent + VAT − prepaid rebate

• Energy charge: the units (kWh) you used, priced in slabs. Each rate applies only to the units inside its slab: the first 75 units at one rate, the next 125 at the next, and so on.
• Demand charge: sanctioned load (kW) × ৳42 a month, whatever you use.
• Meter rent: a fixed monthly rent for a meter the company supplied.
• VAT on all of the above, and a 0.5% rebate if your meter is prepaid.

Worked example: 200 units, 2 kW, single-phase, postpaid

1. Step 1: 75 units × ৳5.26 = ৳394.50
2. Step 2: the remaining 125 units × ৳8.50 = ৳1,062.50
3. Energy charge: ৳394.50 + ৳1,062.50 = ৳1,457
4. Demand charge: 2 kW × ৳42 = ৳84; meter rent ৳40; bill before VAT ৳1,581
5. VAT at 5%: ৳1,581 × 5 ÷ 100 = ৳79.05
6. Total: ৳1,660.05, about ৳8.30 a unit with everything included

On a prepaid meter the same month gets a 0.5% rebate on the ৳1,581 before VAT (৳7.91), so the total is ৳1,652.14. At 350 units the energy charge is ৳394.50 + ৳1,062.50 + 100 × ৳9.10 + 50 × ৳9.62 = ৳2,848; at 700 units it is ৳8,066.

Using 200 units does not put all 200 at ৳8.50: The Daily Star’s worked example of a 200-unit bill prices the first 75 units at the lower rate and only the remaining 125 at the higher one, and BERC rejected a proposal to abolish that slab benefit in June 2026.

Electricity price per unit 2026 (BERC residential tariff)

These are the low-tension residential (LT-A) rates the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) set from the June 2026 billing month for every distribution company: BPDB, Palli Bidyut (BREB), DPDC, DESCO, WZPDCL and NESCO. Rates are per unit, before VAT.

The demand charge is ৳42 per kW of sanctioned load a month, unchanged in 2026. BERC raised retail tariffs on 3 June 2026, then on 4 June kept the lifeline rate at ৳4.63 (instead of ৳5.32) and the first step at ৳5.26 (instead of ৳6.18). All the figures in this table are from those two official orders.

The lifeline rule (50 units or less)

If your whole month’s use is 50 units or less, every unit is charged at the lifeline rate of ৳4.63: 45 units cost 45 × ৳4.63 = ৳208.35 and 50 units ৳231.50, before the other charges.

BERC’s order says no other residential customer gets the lifeline rate. So at 51 units the whole month moves to the slabs and costs 51 × ৳5.26 = ৳268.26. If you are close to 50 units, a few units saved can cut the energy charge by more than ৳30.

Demand charge, meter rent and VAT

• Demand charge (official): ৳42 per kW of your sanctioned load each month, charged on the sanctioned load, not on what you use. It is on your bill or prepaid meter card. Using more than the sanctioned load is charged at double the demand rate (not modelled here).
• Meter rent (as reported): BERC’s 2026 conditions keep “the existing rules” on meter rent without stating an amount, and no rent is due on a meter you bought. DPDC said on 31 August 2026 that its rent is ৳40 a month for a single-phase meter and ৳250 for three-phase. Other companies may differ, so the calculator pre-fills these and lets you change them.
• VAT (as reported): BERC says VAT applies at the government’s rate. DPDC and news reports give 5%, charged on the energy charge, demand charge and meter rent. For VAT on anything else, use the VAT calculator or read how VAT is calculated.
• Late payment (official, not modelled): a one-time 5% surcharge on an overdue bill.

Prepaid vs postpaid meters

The rates are the same. Two things differ on a prepaid meter:

• A rebate of 0.5% of the bill before VAT (BERC). In the worked example that is ৳7.91.
• The month’s demand charge and meter rent come off your first recharge of the month (and any months you skipped are deducted at the next recharge), so a small first recharge buys fewer units than you might expect.

How many units for ৳1,000? With a 2 kW single-phase prepaid meter, a month in which you recharge ৳1,000 in all covers about 126.58 units: ৳84 demand charge + ৳40 meter rent + the slab charges for 126.58 units, plus 5% VAT and minus the 0.5% rebate, comes to ৳1,000. Choose Recharge amount in the calculator for any amount. A recharge of less than ৳129.58 doesn’t cover that month’s fixed charges at all. Meters can split VAT slightly differently, so treat it as an estimate.

Tips for reading your meter

• Postpaid: note the kWh reading on the same day each month. This month’s reading minus last month’s is the units used; choose Meter readings in the calculator and enter both.
• Read only the kWh register (digits before any decimal point or red digits), not the voltage, current or kW display some digital meters cycle through.
• Prepaid: the meter shows the remaining balance and, through its display codes, this month’s units. The codes differ by meter brand; your company’s instruction manual lists them.
• Your sanctioned load and meter phase are printed on the bill or prepaid card. If your use keeps going over the sanctioned load, apply to your company to change it.

Why your company’s bill may differ

This calculator applies BERC’s published rates exactly. Your distribution company’s bill may still differ because of a late-payment surcharge, arrears, adjustments for an earlier estimated reading, rounding to whole Taka, a different meter rent, billing days that span a rate change, or prepaid meters splitting VAT and fixed charges across recharges. If your bill shows different figures, open Edit tariff and type them in.

To see how much of your income goes on electricity, work out your take-home pay with the salary calculator and the share with the percentage calculator.

How to use the calculator

1. Choose Units used, Meter readings or Recharge amount (prepaid).
2. Enter the units used this month, both readings, or the recharge amount. Bangla digits work.
3. Enter your sanctioned load in kW (from the bill or prepaid card).
4. Choose single-phase or three-phase, and postpaid or prepaid.
5. Optional: open Edit tariff to change any rate, the demand charge, meter rent, VAT or rebate.
6. Select Calculate bill to see the total, each slab line and every charge.

The calculator remembers your meter type and sanctioned load in this browser, and nothing you type leaves your device.

Wondering what a new AC or fridge will add? Work out its units from its watts and hours with how many units an AC, fan or fridge uses, then add them to your usual units here.

Sources and dates

All figures were checked on 29 October 2026.

• Official: BERC: Retail electricity tariff 2026 (notification, 3 June 2026) (slab rates from step 2 up, demand charge).
• Official: BERC: Revision of the lifeline and first-step residential rates (4 June 2026) (lifeline ৳4.63 and step 1 ৳5.26).
• Official: BERC: Conditions, applicability and miscellaneous charges of the retail tariff 2026 (3 June 2026) (0.5% prepaid rebate, VAT at the government’s rate, meter-rent rules, 5% late-payment surcharge).
• Official listings: BERC: Tariff notifications (electricity) and DPDC: Tariff rates (from the June 2026 billing month).
• As reported (meter rent ৳40/৳250, VAT 5%): The Business Standard: DPDC clarifies prepaid meter charges (31 August 2026) and Amar Desh: Questions on meter rent and demand charge (19 September 2026).
• Slab method: The Daily Star: Consumers stare at higher power bills (16 May 2026) and The Daily Star: Power prices up 16.7% on average (4 June 2026).