Staff Reporter :
The Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) is not willing to pay the gas price fixed by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
Recently, the fertilizer factory has refused to pay dues due to the new price of gas for fertilizer production. Shahjalal Fertilizer Company has been trapped by Jalalabad Gas Distribution Company by supplying gas for fertilizer production.
Shahjalal Fertilizer has a pending gas bill of Tk 119 crore. And even if the fertilizer company pays the bill, it is still paying the previous price. In such situations, the Energy Department has suggested solving the problem through discussion.
This information is known from sources related to the Energy Department. According to related sources, the price of gas used in the production of fertilizers was increased by 211 percent in 2019.
On June 30 of that year, the price of gas per cubic meter for fertilizer production was increased from 2 taka 71 paisa to 8 taka 44 paisa.
As a result, the gas bills of the fertilizer factories started coming higher. Shahjalal Fertilizer owes Tk 119 crore due to gas bill.
BCIC chairman recently said in the board meeting that the gas bill will be paid at the previously fixed price. Can’t pay the dues at the current fixed price.
According to sources, there has never been an incident where no one wanted to accept after BERC fixed the gas price.
Even so, the BCIC chairman has written to Jalalabad to supply gas till the bill issue is resolved. Gas lines should not be disconnected.
Meanwhile, Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Managing Director Omar Farooq said that Shahjalal Fertilizer Company is paying the bills regularly. And Jalalabad’s complaints about the gas bill are being discussed at a high level.
