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AyRojgar

Generator rental

Buying diesel gensets and hiring them out by the hour, day or month. A 100 kVA set listed at Tk 795,000 in September 2026, and with diesel at Tk 135 a litre the fuel alone costs about Tk 42 a unit.

  • Last reviewed: 21 September 2026
  • Version 1
Generator rental

Generator rental

Starting capital
৳2,00,000 – ৳9,00,000
Market quote
Manpower
1 – 6 people
First sale
7 – 45 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
12 – 30 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Mobile service · Medium difficulty

About the business

The capital is the generator and little else. At September 2026 prices a Ricardo 10 kVA canopy set listed at Tk 200,000, 20 kVA at Tk 388,000, 30 kVA at Tk 380,000-390,000, 50 kVA canopy at Tk 482,000, 100 kVA at Tk 795,000 and 150 kVA at Tk 899,000. The same 100 kVA in a Perkins is Tk 2,250,000, and that gap is the first decision in this trade. But the real arithmetic is fuel. On 20 September 2026 diesel went up twenty taka a litre to Tk 135. A diesel set gives roughly three kilowatt-hours to the litre, so fuel alone is about Tk 42 a unit. Meanwhile, since June 2026 a temporary grid connection is charged at Tk 23.81 a unit and a construction connection at Tk 18.09. Where there is a grid and time to get connected, the generator loses. It wins in three places: where there is no connection, where there is no time to wait for one, and where an outage is ruinous. In the cities the trade is shrinking as solar with batteries and IPS spread. But the demand has not died: between 6 and 9 August 2026 the shortfall climbed from 335 MW to around 3,000 MW, while from 27 April to 3 May there had been a full week with no load shedding at all. That swing is the biggest risk in the business: build a fleet for the bad weeks and it sits idle through the good ones.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳30,000 – ৳3,00,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳48 – ৳70 / unitEditorial estimate
Variable cost৳39 – ৳47 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin10% – 40%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue7 – 45 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time12 – 30 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle0 – 60 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss3% – 10%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity1 – 12Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • Diesel genset. September 2026 market prices: Golden Power 5 kVA super-silent canopy Tk 95,000, 10 kVA canopy Tk 200,000, 12 kVA silent Tk 285,000, 15 kVA Tk 295,000; Ricardo 20 kVA Tk 388,000, 30 kVA Tk 380,000-390,000, 40 kVA Tk 440,000-460,000, 50 kVA canopy Tk 482,000, 60 kVA canopy Tk 540,000, 80 kVA Tk 690,000, 100 kVA Tk 795,000, 150 kVA Tk 899,000; Perkins 60 kVA canopy Tk 1,550,000 and 100 kVA Tk 2,250,000; Cummins 60 kVA soundproof Tk 1,050,000 and 500 kVA Tk 5,300,000.Equipment
  • Automatic transfer switch and battery charger: a 63A single-phase ATS at Tk 4,500, a larger ATS at Tk 24,000, an automatic genset battery charger at Tk 6,000 (September 2026). Heavy copper cable, a distribution board and earthing are needed too, and their prices could not be verified.Equipment
  • Diesel at Tk 135 a litre from 20 September 2026, up from Tk 115. Plus engine oil, oil and air filters, and the starting battery. Oil and filter prices could not be verified here.Starting stock
  • Trade licence from the city corporation, municipality or union parishad: only in the holder's own name, not transferable, renewal fee equal to the new licence fee. The amount varies by trade and area and could not be verified here.Licence
  • Working out the load to pick the kVA, balancing three phases, setting the ATS, and fixing small engine faults standing in the field. This trade lives on the operator-mechanic's skill.Skill
  • Transport and lifting: trolley, pickup or crane. A canopy set above 50 kVA cannot be handled by hand, and the access road to an event site has to be checked in advance.Supplier
  • A dry, guarded yard for the sets and safe drums for fuel. Sets left in the open lose their batteries and copper cable to theft.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Decide the market first: events, construction, factory standby or cold storage. Events pay cash and in advance; factories pay more but late.
  2. 2Size the set from the customer's load, not by guess. 100 kVA means 80 kW; kVA and kW are not the same, and that confusion is why sets turn out too small.
  3. 3Decide on the brand. In September 2026 a Ricardo 100 kVA was Tk 795,000 and a Perkins 100 kVA Tk 2,250,000. The cheap set needs less capital but more thought about parts and servicing.
  4. 4Take a trade licence. It is issued only in the holder's own name and cannot be transferred, so take it in the name the business will actually run under.
  5. 5Arrange an automatic transfer switch and cabling. In September 2026 a 63A single-phase ATS was Tk 4,500 and a larger one Tk 24,000. Standby customers will not take a set without one.
  6. 6Put in the contract who supplies the diesel. On 20 September 2026 it went from Tk 115 to Tk 135 overnight, and a month-long 'fuel included' rate can lose its whole margin in one such night.
  7. 7Arrange haulage: trolley, crane or truck. Anything above 50 kVA cannot be moved by hand, and on event work the loading and unloading time has to be counted in the hire.
  8. 8Keep an operator-mechanic who travels with the set. If it stops in the middle of an event you lose the money and you lose that organiser for good.
  9. 9Show the customer the grid comparison yourself. A temporary connection is Tk 23.81 a unit and construction Tk 18.09, against about Tk 42 in fuel alone on a generator. Your market is where there is no time to get a connection.
  10. 10Keep an hour-log and change oil and filters on schedule. Irregular servicing seizes an engine, and one seized engine is a year's profit gone.
  11. 11Take an advance on event work and keep the paperwork right on contractor work. Contractors pay one to two months later, and until then the diesel comes out of your pocket.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebNormal
  3. MarHigh
  4. AprHigh
  5. MayHigh
  6. JunHigh
  7. JulHigh
  8. AugHigh
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctLow
  11. NovLow
  12. DecNormal
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · Port, industrial belt and large construction projects; even with the construction tariff at Tk 18.09 a unit, a new site has no option before the connection arrives.
  • Strong fitDhaka · The most events, film shoots, fairs and construction, and the busiest hire of all is the gap before a new building gets its grid connection.
  • Strong fitGazipur · Plenty of garment factories and new construction, and close enough to Dhaka to haul sets cheaply.
  • Strong fitNarayanganj · Dense with knitwear and dyeing mills where a stopped line costs a lot, so standby sets keep their demand.
  • Strong fitRajshahi · Cold storage country. In August 2026 its cold stores were running generators one to two hours a day and paying an extra Tk 8,000-10,000 an hour in fuel.
  • PossibleBogura · The northern hub for cold stores and small workshops, with a machine-parts market that makes repairs easy.
  • PossibleCox's Bazar · Hotels, resorts and season events; event work rises from November to February and event money comes in cash.
  • PossibleKushtia · Rice and tobacco processing plus irrigation; when power fails in season the line stops and that is when a hired set is looked for.
  • PossibleMunshiganj · A big potato cold storage belt; the stores run from February to September and that is when standby sets are needed.
  • PossibleSylhet · Large weddings and functions, plus tea estate and building work that needs sets.

Risks and cautions

  • HighDemand: Demand tracks load shedding and load shedding is wildly irregular. From 27 April to 3 May 2026 there was a full week with none at all; then on 6 August the shortfall was 335 MW, on 8 August 2,167 MW and on 9 August about 3,000 MW on hourly average. Buy sets for the bad weeks and the instalments keep running through the good months while the sets sit in the yard. In the cities, solar with batteries and IPS are steadily cutting into this market.
  • HighDependency: The whole business rides on the diesel price. On 20 September 2026 one notification put it up twenty taka a litre, from Tk 115 to Tk 135, a 17 percent jump overnight. Anyone sitting on a monthly 'fuel included' contract at the old rate lost that month's profit there and then, because the rate cannot be raised mid-contract.
  • MediumDemand: Against the grid tariff the generator loses. Since June 2026 a temporary connection is Tk 23.81 a unit and a construction connection Tk 18.09, while a generator burns about Tk 42 a unit in diesel alone. Once a customer does that sum, next time they apply for a temporary connection. The trade survives only where there is no time or no way to get one.
  • MediumLate payment: Contractors and factories are billed at month end and pay one to two months later, while diesel has to be bought for cash every day. Small hirers who land a big job get trapped in exactly that gap. Event work does not have the problem, but the jobs are small and irregular.
  • MediumOther: A seized engine is the single biggest loss in this trade. Missed oil changes, dirty fuel, or hours of running at light load all kill engines. A 100 kVA set costs Tk 795,000 to replace, and while it is in the workshop the instalments and yard rent keep running. Whether hire fleets can be insured in Bangladesh could not be verified here.

Sources

What changed

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