THE government has hiked the average power tariff by 2.97 percent and gas price by 26.29 percent making the common people helpless to turn nowhere to save them from the state monopoly. It is raising the energy tariff at will every time but nobody is bothered about the affordability of the common users. It appears that the authorities concerned are targeting the people as the most potential source of revenue to cover their ever widening budget deficit which includes buying electricity at questionably higher cost from private producers and funding other unaccounted expenditures commonly decried as unbridled corruption in the Energy Sector. The new rates will be effective as The New Nation reported from September 1, requiring users of a single burner stove to pay Tk 600 from Tk 400 now and Tk 650 per month for double burner to severely affect domestic gas users. Per cubic meter of CNG will cost Tk 35 to motorists from Tk 30 now. The power tariff was earlier raised in 2009 and gas prices twice in 2011. Meanwhile, the hints by state minister for power and energy that gas price would be raised again by December appear like a double blow on the common people, despite protest from all quarters on the current price hike. The current price hike was finalized at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday. It shows that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC); which is a statutory authority to make independent decisions on energy prices through holding hearing of the stakeholders is nothing but an administrative arm of the government. The decision came from the high level meeting of the government officials where stakeholders’ opinion had no place. The report quoted a meeting source as saying that participants in the meeting laid emphasis on the fact that power distribution and marketing companies must generate enough revenue for funding the electricity generation, transmission and distribution meaning that higher cost of electricity from private producers must be fully paid by users in phases. The government justification that price hike is essential to generate more revenue to set up new power plants is partly true but it is not taking enough steps to achieve self-sufficiency in reducing dependence on private producers. Meanwhile all subsidies that were initially devised to keep the power and gas bills of the common users at affordable level have already been switched to pay the higher electricity bills of private producers. Meanwhile, people are becoming defenseless in a rather leaderless country where nobody is accountable to the people and speak for their cause. Business syndicates and politically powerful groups are out to exploit every opportunity in public and private sector and this is why cost of every unity is soaring in the country while there is not a single instance of reducing the cost to bring some relief to the people.Fuel oil now sells at US$ 40 per barrel in international market and yet people in the country are paying the prices fixed when it sold at $120 in global market. The government leaders and officials use official transports and accommodation and have not to pay. Party men are also well off but ordinary people have no way out. Who will stop the growing state monopoly is the biggest question at this moment.
