Is the prepaid rebate 0.5% or 1%?

BERC's SRO-43/2024 sets it at 0.5% on the net energy bill. Some company leaflets still print the older 1% figure. The calculator defaults to 0.5% but you can change it.

Does the rebate apply to VAT and meter rent too?

No. It applies only to the net energy charge — the per-unit electricity cost. Demand charge, meter rent, and the 5% VAT are excluded.

Can I switch from postpaid to prepaid?

Yes. Apply to your distributor (DESCO, DPDC, NESCO, BREB, etc.). They replace the meter; any postpaid security deposit is adjusted. There's usually no charge for the swap itself.

Prepaid vs postpaid meter savings

Enter your monthly energy charge to see what the prepaid rebate actually saves you over a year and a decade, and weigh the indirect pros and cons against a postpaid meter.

Prepaid rebate & lifetime savings

Monthly energy charge (৳, before VAT)

Roughly your total bill ÷ 1.05 (strip the 5% VAT).

Prepaid rebate (%)

0.5% per SRO-43/2024 · some leaflets still say 1%

Saved / month

৳ 10.00

Saved / year

৳ 120

Saved / 10 years

৳ 1200

The rebate is the only direct cash difference. The bigger wins are indirect — see below.

Prepaid meter

0.5% rebate on every recharge
No estimated/average reading shocks
No late-payment surcharge — you pay first
Recharge is free; emergency balance built in

Postpaid meter

Use now, pay after the bill is issued
~15-day grace window before surcharge
No rebate; risk of estimated readings
5% late-payment surcharge if you miss the date

Rebate: Monthly saving = energy charge × rebate %

The rebate applies to the net energy charge — not to demand charge, meter rent, or VAT.

Prepaid vs postpaid

Does a prepaid meter actually save you money?

The honest answer: the 0.5% rebate is small. The real savings are indirect — no estimated-reading shocks, no late surcharge, and you only ever pay for what you use.

The essentials

Prepaid gives a 0.5% rebate on the net energy charge (SRO-43/2024) — about ৳120 a year on a ৳2,000/month bill
The bigger win is no estimated/average meter readings — you pay for actual units, not a guess
Prepaid has no late-payment surcharge; postpaid charges 5% if you miss the date

The direct saving

What the 0.5% rebate is worth

Every prepaid recharge in Bangladesh earns a rebate on the net energy charge — the per-unit electricity cost, before VAT, demand charge, and meter rent. SRO-43/2024 sets it at 0.5%. (Some older company leaflets still quote the previous 1% — the calculator lets you set the rate.)

A household with a ৳2,000/month energy charge earns about ৳10 a month, ৳120 a year, ৳1,200 over a decade. Real money, but it won’t change your life. The reasons to switch are the indirect ones below.

The real reason

Why prepaid users save more than the rebate suggests

The trade-offs

Where postpaid is more comfortable

Cash-flow timing

Postpaid lets you use power now and pay weeks later, with a ~15-day grace window. Prepaid demands money before the units — a real constraint for irregular incomes.

Running out at midnight

A prepaid meter can cut off when the balance hits zero. The emergency (friendly) balance covers a short gap, but you have to recharge promptly and it’s settled on the next top-up.

Recharge discipline

Prepaid rewards people who track balance and recharge in larger, less frequent amounts. If you forget, the convenience flips into a hassle.

Bottom line

Who should switch

If your postpaid bills swing unpredictably or you’ve been burned by an estimated reading, prepaid is worth it for the accuracy alone — the rebate is a bonus. If you value paying after the fact and never miss a due date, postpaid costs you very little extra. For the exact taka on your own usage, plug your numbers into the calculator above, and use the slab-aware main bill calculator to see your energy charge before VAT.

Frequently asked questions

Directly, only the rebate — 0.5% of your net energy charge, roughly ৳120/year on a ৳2,000/month bill. The larger, harder-to-quantify saving is avoiding estimated-reading overbilling and the 5% late-payment surcharge.

Other calculators

Appliance cost calculator

Enter wattage and daily run-hours for any appliance to see exact cost per day and per month at the current Bangladesh tariff. Covers single appliances and full-home loads.

Solar savings calculator

Estimate how much you save per month with a rooftop solar installation under the net-metering policy, including payback period and 25-year return.

Watt → unit converter

Quickly convert watts × hours of use into electricity units (kWh) per day or month, then into Taka at the rate that applies to your meter.

Load shedding cost

Compare what an hour of load shedding actually costs when you switch to a diesel or petrol generator, versus what the same units would have cost on the grid.

New connection cost

Pick your category, phase and sanctioned load to get an itemised estimate of what a new connection costs upfront — deposit, application fee and meter charge — plus the recurring meter rent.