Anisul Islam Noor :
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has not taken any decision of increasing the gas and power price right now after hearing on proposal for price hike.
Confirming it, Dr Selim Mahmud, member of BERC told The New Nation yesterday that power and gas price would not be increased soon.
BERC required more information from gas and power distribution companies to justify their demand for price hike, he said.
There is no scope to make additional profit at the service sectors. Since the power distribution entities have been earning profit, the demand for price hike is totally unethical, said Professor Shamsul Alam, Energy Adviser of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
Different right groups strongly opposed the move of power price hike as the oil price decreased significantly in the international market. They urged to hold hearing on decreasing power tariff.
Professor Alam of CAB said, the government is giving subsidy to generate electricity from furnace oil and diesel based power plants. But most of oil run power plants were kept idle last year. BERC can press the government to adjust the subsidy from which was not spent last year, he said.
The Power Development Board (PDB) proposed to increase the power
price by 18.12 percent (Tk 0.85 per unit) at bulk level, saying that currently the cost of power production and distribution per unit is Tk 6.54 whereas the price at wholesale level is Tk 4.67 per unit.
As per the government directives, the six gas distribution agencies earlier submitted their respective proposals to the BERC to raise the gas price. Although each distribution company separately submitted their respective proposals, they maintained uniformity in their proposals to raise the gas price for different kinds of consumers.
According to the proposals, the companies sought to increase the domestic users’ double burner rate to Tk 1,000 per month from the existing Tk 450, which is a 122.22 percent hike. For the single burner, the rate was proposed to raise to Tk 850 from Tk 400, meaning a hike by 112.50 percent on existing rate.
The companies proposed increasing the commercial users’ gas rate, particularly the metre-based consumers, to Tk 235 per unit from existing Tk 146.25, a rise by 60.68 percent. For industrial users, gas price was proposed to increase by 32.60 percent to Tk 220 from the existing Tk 165.91.
The rate for captive power plant was proposed to raise by 102.94 percent to Tk 240 from Tk 118 per 1,000 cubic feet gas (MCF). For the state-owned power plants, Tk 84 was proposed per MCF gas from Tk 79.82.
The other commercial users’ rate was proposed to increase by 30.55 percent to Tk 350 from Tk 268.09 while tea garden’s gas rate was proposed for Tk 200 from Tk 165, a hike by 91 (20.55%). The gas utility bodies proposed to enhance the rate for CNG gas station by 39.1 percent to Tk 905.92 from Tk 651.29 and at the CNG consumer level Tk 1,132.67 from Tk 849.50, a hike by 33 percent. For fertiliser companies, the gas price was proposed for increasing by 9.71 percent to Tk 80 from Tk 72.92 per MCF.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has not taken any decision of increasing the gas and power price right now after hearing on proposal for price hike.
Confirming it, Dr Selim Mahmud, member of BERC told The New Nation yesterday that power and gas price would not be increased soon.
BERC required more information from gas and power distribution companies to justify their demand for price hike, he said.
There is no scope to make additional profit at the service sectors. Since the power distribution entities have been earning profit, the demand for price hike is totally unethical, said Professor Shamsul Alam, Energy Adviser of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
Different right groups strongly opposed the move of power price hike as the oil price decreased significantly in the international market. They urged to hold hearing on decreasing power tariff.
Professor Alam of CAB said, the government is giving subsidy to generate electricity from furnace oil and diesel based power plants. But most of oil run power plants were kept idle last year. BERC can press the government to adjust the subsidy from which was not spent last year, he said.
The Power Development Board (PDB) proposed to increase the power
price by 18.12 percent (Tk 0.85 per unit) at bulk level, saying that currently the cost of power production and distribution per unit is Tk 6.54 whereas the price at wholesale level is Tk 4.67 per unit.
As per the government directives, the six gas distribution agencies earlier submitted their respective proposals to the BERC to raise the gas price. Although each distribution company separately submitted their respective proposals, they maintained uniformity in their proposals to raise the gas price for different kinds of consumers.
According to the proposals, the companies sought to increase the domestic users’ double burner rate to Tk 1,000 per month from the existing Tk 450, which is a 122.22 percent hike. For the single burner, the rate was proposed to raise to Tk 850 from Tk 400, meaning a hike by 112.50 percent on existing rate.
The companies proposed increasing the commercial users’ gas rate, particularly the metre-based consumers, to Tk 235 per unit from existing Tk 146.25, a rise by 60.68 percent. For industrial users, gas price was proposed to increase by 32.60 percent to Tk 220 from the existing Tk 165.91.
The rate for captive power plant was proposed to raise by 102.94 percent to Tk 240 from Tk 118 per 1,000 cubic feet gas (MCF). For the state-owned power plants, Tk 84 was proposed per MCF gas from Tk 79.82.
The other commercial users’ rate was proposed to increase by 30.55 percent to Tk 350 from Tk 268.09 while tea garden’s gas rate was proposed for Tk 200 from Tk 165, a hike by 91 (20.55%). The gas utility bodies proposed to enhance the rate for CNG gas station by 39.1 percent to Tk 905.92 from Tk 651.29 and at the CNG consumer level Tk 1,132.67 from Tk 849.50, a hike by 33 percent. For fertiliser companies, the gas price was proposed for increasing by 9.71 percent to Tk 80 from Tk 72.92 per MCF.
