Anisul Islam Noor :
The government has initiated to increase gas price again though the gas distributing entities are making profit.
In line of the government’s decision The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will hold eight-day public hearing from August 7 on gas utilities. On September 1, 2015, gas tariffs were raised by 26.29 per cent, sources said.
Petrobangla sells natural gas to the utilities at bulk rates. BERC received proposals from all the six gas distribution utilities to allow them to raise the tariffs at different rates for different categories of consumers.
The utilities are seeking to raise the monthly tariffs for domestic consumers to Tk 1,200 from Tk 650 for double burners and Tk 1,100 from Tk 600 for single burners.
They are seeking to raise the per cubic metre tariff for domestic consumers, at whose homes meters had been installed, to Tk 16.80 from Tk 7, sources said.
BERC at a meeting recently took the decision to hold the public hearings following gas utilities proposal to raise the tariffs, BERC Director AKM Monowar Hossain Akhand said.
He said that the BERC might allow raising the bulk price as well as retail tariffs for natural gas from September1.
The utilities are seeking to raise the tariffs for power plants, fertiliser factories, captive power plants, industry and commercial users of natural gas.
They proposed to raise the per cubic metre tariff for power plants to Tk 4.60 from Tk 2.82, for fertliser factory to Tk 4.41 from Tk 2.58; for captive power plant to Tk 19.26 from Tk8.36, for industry to Tk 10.95 from Tk 6.74; for commercial users to Tk 19.50 from Tk 11.36 and for compressed natural gas consumers to Tk 49.50 from Tk 35.
They also proposed to raise the gas price for CNG filling stations to Tk 40 per cubic metre from Tk 27.
BERC’s public hearing on August 7 would consider Gas Transmission Company Limited’s proposal to increase its gas transmission margin, officials said.
The hearings from August 8 to August 17 would consider the proposals of six distribution utilities. The last day’s hearing on August 18 would consider Petrobnagla’s proposal to raise the bulk price of natural gas.
Besides consumers and independent experts, political organisations would be invited to sit face to face with the utilities and present their positions on the issue.
Petrobangla buys natural gas from Chevron and KrisEnergy, both international oil companies, as well as Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited, Sylhet Gas Fields Limited and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited, all Petrobangla subsidiaries.
BERC officials said that last week they held several meetings with the state-run gas production companies to examine how the gas price they were charging from Petrobangla was justifiable.
Petrobangla pointed out to the BERC that from the last fiscal it had to pay taxes on gas sold to it by the IOCs.
Petrobangla also pointed out that its revenue earnings dropped due to fall in gas-condensate price and lowered interest on its deposits.
BERC officials said that they took these factors into cognisance. The utilities requested BERC to raise the retail tariffs in the light of higher bulk price they would be charged by Petrobangla.
They are also pressing to raise the retail tariffs citing the ground that their profit margins fell since BERC began deductions from their profits to create an energy security fund.
