MOST dailies reported that Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission hosted the hearing on the state-run Power Development Board’s (PDB) proposal to raise the bulk rate of electricity by 18.12 percent with an annual subsidy requirement of Tk 4,000 crore. Reports also said that general stakeholders, different chamber bodies and left democratic parties criticised the government for its proposal to increase power prices when it was making profits from selling fuel oil for electricity generation.Economists suggested that the government should not give subsidy to the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) as it makes profit from selling fuel oil to PDB and energy experts also said that the consumers should not be forced to pay for giving more benefit to the owners of rental power plants. This way, the government was burdening people by renewing the contracts to buy expensive electricity from the rental power suppliers, mostly owned by ruling party men, in a way the PDB had to count money for the capital investment even after the cost recovery during the first term of contracts. On the other hand, the PDB justified the price hike and subsidy saying that it would have to increase power generation from the plants run BPC on expensive fuels for which it pays Tk 60 per litre for furnace oil and Tk 68 per litre for diesel to the state-run BPC going and thus came up with the proposal when the price of fuel oil — the key reason for the rise in electricity generation cost — has halved in the international market. It is now US$ 47 per barrel. Reports further added that the government is expected to realise some Tk 4,000 crore in taxes from the BPC on import and marketing of fuel oil in the 2014-15 financial year, outside of which the corporation is still making a profit on fuel oil at Tk 10-20 per litre. It may be mentioned that neighbouring India, whom the AL government considers as its role-model; has refixed the fuel price downward for at least half a dozen times keeping it at par with the fall of oil price in international market. Unfortunately, here in Bangladesh, the authority concerned is going on with its arrogant decisioin to make fuel or fuel based products more costly.It appears that the government hardly feels for the plights of common people’s sufferings because of the fuel and electricity price hike. Besides, the policy-decision makers are not even ready to calculate the chain effects of such fuel price hike which in turn may create havoc on the economy even to the tune of pushing the inflationary pressure further up. It is grossly irresponsible on part of the government to raise fuel prices when world prices are falling. Using flimsy excuses does not eradicate the fact that there are better ways to handle the situation. The government must employ its resources to find a more cost effective and less problematic solution to the issue instead of forcing the citizens to pay for the government’s lackings.
