Business Desk :
Energy Advisor of the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Prof Dr M Shamsul Alam has alleged that Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has fixed the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to satisfy private sector investors.
The commissions considered the Saudi Aramco CP price of March 2021to fix the domestic LPG price, which was the highest in the past several years, he said.
“As the public hearing took place in January, 2021, the BERC should have to consider the Saudi Aramco CP price of January when the prices of Propane and Butane were US$550 per tonne and and $530 per tonne respectively. The tariff would have come down significantly as the consequences,” he added.
The commission should not take three long months to give its verdict as the Saudi Aramco CP price is released during the first week of every month, said Mr Alam.
He also was critical over the BERC’s decision to fix new tariff in every month, as what he said, the commission does not have any jurisdiction to change tariff even by a single paisa without holding public hearing. Like the CAB advisor, market insiders also termed the new LPG tariff as a means to support the bargain-hunting private sector.
“If the commission would consider the Saudi Aramco CP price of April, when the prices of propane and butane was at $560 per tonne and $530 per tonne respectively, the new tariff would have been around 15 per cent lower, said an LPG trader refusing to be quoted, reports Financial Express.
Propane and Butane are the main ingredients of LPG, which is prepared through mixture of these two components. New tariff was incomplete and the announcement was made without carrying out necessary homework, alleged an expert in LPG sector businesses Mohammed Saidul Islam.
