Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said there was a pressure on the government to raise the price of energy like gas every month or two.

“But we did not hike the price following various calculations by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division and it’s a good thing,” he said after presiding over two separate meetings of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs and the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at Bangladesh Secretariat here.

He, however, did not say anything from which organisation or country the pressure was on them.

Salehuddin said the aim of the government is to ensure necessary supply of LNG so that no such pressure is created on them to raise the energy price. “Such a rise affects the consumers as well as the industries,” he said.

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The Adviser mentioned that the government is focusing on enhancing the supply side of LNG alongside reducing pressure on them. “But, it is hard to predict what will happen in the future,” he said.

The Finance Adviser said that the interim government is purchasing LNG at a relatively reasonable price from the international market.

In April last, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) raised gas tariffs for new industrial and captive power consumers by 33 percent. At the same time, the government has been revising electricity prices, with reports suggesting a series of consecutive hikes within a short span.