Anisul Islam Noor :
The right groups and energy experts have to be strongly criticized the government’s initiative of a fresh hike of gas price effective from October1.
A source closed to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) told The New Nation on Wednesday, the regulator will announce fresh price hike excluding residential consumption.
Member- secretary of National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports Professor Anu Muhammad said, the gas price hike will affect living cost in difference ways.
Without checking the misuse of natural gas and pilfering, the government is going to raise gas price, which is totally illogical, he said. Energy Adviser of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Professor Shamsul Alam also criticized the gas price hike initiative saying that in the price hike hearing in BERC, there is no need to gas price hike.
At present the country’s gas supply stands at about 2,700mmcfd against the demand for 3,300mmcfd. Bangladesh is looking
outside to alleviate its energy shortage largely caused by depleting domestic reserves and rising demand.
Costly LNG is imported to meet the growing demand.
However, a BERC member told the reporter that since imported LNG injected into the national grid, the price of gas is needed to be adjusted.
Without revealing any detail, he said, the gas price in the household sector will not increase, but the price in the industry, commercial establishments, CNG stations and power plants will increase.
A Petrobangla official said, the imported LNG costs Tk. 26.50 per unit, whereas Petrobangla is selling it for Tk 7.36 per unit. So the BERC is trying to complete gas price hike process soon.
By December, LNG supply volume would be 500 mmcfd when the mixed price (local and imported ) would be Tk. 11. Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd (TGTDCL), Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Ltd (BGDCL), Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd (JGTDCL), and Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd (KGDCL), in their common proposal, sought the average gas tariff to Tk. 12.95 per cubic metre from the existing Tk 7.39.
The entities wanted to raise the tariff for gas-fired power plants to Tk 10 per cubic metre from the existing Tk 3.16, for fertiliser factories to Tk 12.80 per cubic metre from the existing Tk 2.17, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to Tk 48 per cubic metre from the existing Tk 40.
For the industrial sector, the tariff for natural gas, as sought by the distributors, would be Tk15 per cubic metre in place of the existing Tk 7.76. For gas-fired captive power plants, the tariff sought Tk 16 per cubic metre from the existing Tk 9.62. The gas price for tea gardens has been proposed for Tk 12.80 per cubic metres from the existing Tk. 7.42.
In June, the BERC held hearings about raising gas prices for consumers except for households. Prices may be raised for industries, power stations, filling stations, fertiliser factories, and tea estates.
Last time, the BERC raised the gas price in March last year. It also raised the price in June the same year, but the decision was later postponed following a High Court order. Under the law, the BERC cannot enhance gas price twice in a single fiscal year.
