Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has increased the price of gas used in all types of industries and factories. As the old factories that are pushing will be under pressure, the new investor can surrender. Because the commission thinks that those who buy gas at this price and make industry, they will invest.
Jalal Ahmed, chairman of the commission, announced the new price of gas at a press conference at the BERC office in the capital's Caravan Bazar yesterday. The new price has come into force since April 1.
At the press conference, the BERC could not provide any logical explanation to increase the price of gas by 5 percent. Despite raising the price, he could not guarantee the uninterrupted gas-sacrifice. The Commission does not even calculate how much the government's income will be, how much the deficit will be reduced to increase gas prices.
Responding to a question on the basis of the reasoning of the gas prices, the chairman of the BERC said that if the revenue demand of the companies, the price would have to be raised much higher. Keeping the consumer in mind, the price has been increased by 5 percent to keep the price tolerable. In this case the subsidy was not calculated.
Asked if the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources that had been raised in such a price without verification of the revenue demand was made, he said the ministry had not been prescribed in the prescription of the ministry.
Referring to the risk of hindering new investment due to the increase in gas prices, the chairman of the BERC said that the decline in investment cannot be said right now. Whether or not the new investment will affect, it will be noticed. If the new ones will come, they will come to see them, they will come. They can also use alternative fuels.
The price of the new and old is the price of the tactics
According to the BERC announcement, the gas connection will be approved after April 1, they will have to pay extra prices. In this case, the price of gas per cubic meter used in the industry will have to pay 5 rupees. Earlier, the price was 5 rupees. And the price of gas used in the factory's own captive power plant has been fixed at Tk 12, which was earlier Tk 5 paise. Prior to April 5, the gas connection application demand was issued but the gas-connection (industrial and captive) that was not given more than 5 percent of its approved loads that would use the gas to be paid at a new price. And the old industry customers will use the new load as much as the approved load, just as the new price has to be paid.
In this regard, the Energy Advisor to the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Professor M Shamsul Alam told the newspaper that as much as the gas approves, most of the factories use 100 percent of the approved loads, many are more demanding. As a result, everyone will have to buy gas at extra cost.
Traders say that continuous gas is not supplied to the industrial sector of the country. Existing industries do not get gas as per demand. And the gas connection application for the new factory has been hanging for years. In such a supply situation, the price of gas increased by jumping. Earlier in January 2021, gas prices were increased from 1 to 5 percent. At that time, the price per unit of industrial and captive is 5 rupees. Later last year, the prices of captive were increased to 5 paise.
Asked about the increase in gas prices, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) president Taskin Ahmed said that increasing gas prices would suffer higher and medium enterprises, they are not able to pay extra costs.
