Staff Reporter :
State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid on Sunday said Tk 14,000 crore subsidy will need to be added if the government does not increase gas price.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is yet to decide on hiking gas price, the state minister told a post Eid press briefing at his Secretariat office in the morning.
The government is planning to update all old gas pipelines with prepaid connections in capital Dhaka, he said.
Sources said, the proposal to double the gas price because of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports is being met with fierce resistance as the increase stands to hit the economy, make businesses uncompetitive and fuel inflation.
BERC started the public hearing on March 11 on the proposals placed by distribution companies Titas, Bakhrabad, Jalalabad, Pashchimanchal, Karnaphuli, and Sundarban for the price hike.
Titas and Sundarban have demanded 208 per cent hike for gas consumed by power plants, 211 per cent for fertiliser companies, 96 per cent for captive power plants, 132 per cent for industries, 41 per cent for commercial entities, and 50 per cent for CNG-run vehicles.
The distribution companies are seeking 80 per cent rise in monthly gas bill for both single-burner and double-burner cooking stoves, from Tk 750 to Tk 1,350 and from Tk 800 to Tk 1,440 respectively.
