BERC
Public hearing on proposed hike in bulk power tariff May 18
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will hold public hearing on a proposal for raising electricity tariff at bulk level on May 18.
The state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) moved the proposal last month urging the energy regulator to set the bulk power tariff at Tk8.58 instead of existing 5.17 per kilowatt hour (each unit).
The BERC in public notice informed that the public hearing will be held at Biam Auditorium in the city from 10.30 am to 5 pm on May 18.
Also read: Proposed gas price hike: Petrobangla under fire at public hearing
It also requested the interested parties and individuals who want to participate in the hearing to send the opinions in written by April 28 and enlist their names for the hearing.
The BPDB claims in its proposal to the energy regulator that it will incur a loss of Tk 30,251 crore in the current fiscal year if the bulk tariff is not raised.
It attributed to the increasing fuel cost and other soaring expenses for financial losses saying that the production cost of electricity has gone up to Tk 4.24 per unit in 2022 from Tk 2.13 in the fiscal year 2019-20.
Power industry insiders said that it is obvious that if the bulk electricity is raised, it will ultimately push up the tariff at retail level. Any rise in bulk tariff will be applicable for the power distribution companies as they are the bulk consumers.
They buy electriocity from BPDB in bulk and then sell it to the public at retail rates. So, the public hearing on retail tariff will come consequently, said an industry insider.
Also read: Public hearing on LPG pricing postponed again
All the state-owned power distribution companies have already submitted their respective proposals to the BERC to raise the power rates at retail level.
But this time, the BERC is going to hold public hearing on bulk tariff proposal keeping pending the request for raising retail price.
BERC member Syed Mokbul-e-Elahi Chowdhury said the it wants to first settle the bulk tariff proposal.
“This time we want to keep the hearing only on the bulk tariff proposal... the issue of retail tariff will be settled later by the commission”, he told UNB.
Illegal gas connections still in system despite repeated moves: Titas MD
Titas Gas officials have admitted on Wednesday that despite their repeated efforts illegal connections of gas are still in the system as it is not physically possible to keep surveillance on its huge network in and outside Dhaka city.
“It’s really tough to guard the gas lines. On one side we disconnect the illegal lines, on the other side the thieves restore illegal connections and steal the gas. It’s like a cat and mouse game,” Titas Gas MD Harunur Rashid Mollah told the public hearing on gas price hike proposals on Wednesday in the city.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is holding the hearing at the city’s BIAM Auditorium to listen to the stakeholders’ arguments on the proposals.
At the hearing, Harunur sought the consumers’ cooperation to stop illegal connections and stealing of gas through such lines.
BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil, members Maqbul-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Bazlur Rahman, Mohammad Abu Farooq were present on the occasion.
Most of the Titas employees and officials are honest while 10 percent might be dishonest, claims Harunur.
READ: Titas Gas asked to act against officials who failed to increase customer services
The Titas Gas top boss said 23,000 illegal connections were disconnected in December last, 18,000 in January, 33,000 in February and 25,000 in March.
At the public hearing, Titas Gas proposed a 117 percent increase in household prices while the technical evaluation committee of the watchdog body recommended a 10.76 percent rise in the gas price.
The evaluation committee has also recommended increasing the price of gas for two burner ovens to Tk 1,080 from Tk 975 while Tk 990 for single burner oven from the existing price of Tk 925.
It also made identical recommendations for Titas Gas like other companies that gas price for per cubic meter might be raised to Tk5.34 from the existing Tk 4.44 for power sector, Tk 15.50 from Tk 13.85 for captive power, Tk 5.34 from Tk4.44 for fertiliser factories, Tk12.65 from 10.70 for tea industries, Tk27.60 from Tk23 for commercial consumers, Tk 49.50 from Tk43 while Tk 18 from 12.60 for metered gas oven at household consumers.
BERC to hold public hearing on March 21-24 over gas tariff hike
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will hold public hearing on the proposed gas tariff hike on March 21-24.
The commission has taken the decision to hold the public hearing if everything remains as usual, said Md Abdul Jalil, chairman of the BERC on Monday.
“We’ve already sent the notice in this regard to the newspapers to publish it as advertisement,” he told UNB.
State-owned 6 gas distribution companies and one transmission company submitted their final proposals to the energy regulator on January 25 seeking a 117 percent hike in gas price at retail level.
Besides, their principal gas supplier Petrobangla also placed its proposal to raise the price of the natural gas at bulk level.
Also read: Decision on gas price hike proposals after detailed analysis: BERC chairman
As per the gas distributors’ proposals, the monthly gas price for a double burner will increase to Tk 2100 from existing Tk 975, while price for single burner will rise to Tk 2000 from current Tk 925.
Petrobangla is the bulk supplier to the six downstream distribution companies. They are Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd (Titas Gas), Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Limited (BGDCL), Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution System Ltd (JGTDSL), Paschimanchal Gas company Limited(PGCL), Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) and Sundarban Gas Company Limited (SGCL) while the only transmission company is Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL).
Following the submission of the proposals by the companies, a 5-member watchdog body scrutinized and set the schedule for the public hearing.
As per the BERC Act, the commission will invite interested representatives from stakeholders in the gas sector to take part in the public hearing.
After the conclusion of the hearing, the watchdog body will announce its decision within 90 days.
Official sources said Petrobangla and its 7 subsidiary bodies submitted the proposals to raise gas price at the bulk and retail levels following the directive of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
For the last several months, the Energy Division has been under pressure from the Finance Ministry to collect more revenues by raising gas prices to offset subsidies in the energy sector.
A member of the BERC said Petrobangla currently imports only 5 per cent of its daily consumption from a highly volatile international spot market where it has to buy gas at higher price.
It imports its 20 per cent gas from two international companies under long-term contracts where price is static.
“If the local production is raised by 5 per cent, then the country will not need to import the 5 per cent gas from volatile markets at a higher price and finally it would not have to raise the gas price at retail level,” he added.
Also read: Govt working to keep gas price within tolerable limit: Nasrul
Normally, the Petrobangla supplies 2,700-3,000, million cubic feet (mmcfd) gas per day of which 2,300 mmcfd is produced locally while 600 mmcfd is imported as liquefied natural gas LNG.
Of this imported 600 mmcfd, 150 mmcfd is imported from spot market at a variable price between $10 and $30 per unit.
Meanwhile, side by side the state-owned power distribution companies also submitted proposals to the BERC to raise the power tariff as well.
About the proposals, the BERC chairman informed that the commission has received proposals from state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and other power distribution companies to raise power tariff as well.
“But we’re yet to complete the scrutinizing job on the proposals”, he said. So, no decision has been made as yet on holding of any public hearing on power tariff hike proposals, he said.
Govt working to keep gas price within tolerable limit: Nasrul
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said the government is working to keep the gas price within the tolerable level of people.
“We’re watchful so that any rise in gas price doesn’t create public discontent,” he said while talking to reporters during a visit to Titas Gas Company’s Tikatoli Zonal office in the city on Sunday.
He said it is the responsibility of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to assess the proposals of gas distribution companies and make its order on the issue.
Also read: Defying rejection, Petrobangla, 7 other distributors again push for gas price hike
The remarks came against the backdrop of the recent move by the state-owned company to raise gas prices.
They separately submitted their respective proposals to the BERC.
If the BERC accepts the distributors’ proposals, the monthly gas price for a double-burner will rise to Tk 2,100 from the existing Tk 975, while the price for a single-burner to Tk 2,000 from the current Tk 925.
Nasrul Hamid said the government has initiated measures to increase the economic use of gas as well as create public awareness about it.
He said gas exploration activities are going on as the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation incurs a loss of Tk 10 crore a day as it has to import petroleum at a much higher price from the international market.
Also read: Consumers brace for a big hike in gas price amid dwindling supply
The state minister expressed dissatisfaction over mismanagement of files at the office and asked the officials to introduce an automation system as soon as possible.
'Unacceptable': Opinion almost unanimous in rejecting proposed gas price hike
Speakers at a discussion meeting on the country's 'gas crisis' -dwindling reserves met with increasingly expensive imports - trashed a proposed price hike sent to the energy regulator by the state-owned gas distribution companies for drawing on erroneous assessment.
“The proposal to hike the gas price by 117 percent is abnormally high, and cannot be acceptable to justify only 5 percent import of gas at higher price from the spot market” said Mizanur Rahman, a former member of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission while discussing the issue.
Energy and Power, a fortnightly publication on arguably the most vital sector of the economy for any developing nation, organised the virtual discussionSaturday on “Gas Crisis & Price Hike Move, Challenges of Industrial Sector '' with its editor Mollah Amzad Hossain as moderator.
The seminar was also addressed by the eminent economist and executive director of the Policy Research Institute Dr Ahsan H Mandur, energy expert Dr Ijaz Hossain, former president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abul Kasem Khan, FBCCI Standing Committee on Power and Energy Chairman Humayun Rashid and chairman of Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) Arun Karmaker.
BERC recently rejected a proposal put together by a number of state-owned gas distribution companies to raise the gas price by 117 percent in accordance with the energy division’s instruction.
According to gas industry insiders, of the country’s total gas consumption, 78 percent is still locally produced from the country's own reserves, while 17 percent is imported on G2G (government to government) contracts that have a long-term price locked in.static price while only 5 percent is imported from a volatile spot market.
Mentioning the proposal, former BERC member Mizanur Rahman said the regulatory body rightly rejected the proposal. “The proposal was based on a wrong assessment,” he added.
He, however, said the taxation part is separated from the total price, the enhancement could be by between 60-70 percent which is also unacceptable in the current structure of the gas market.
Dr Mansur said there was no long term strategy pursued for the country’s energy sector and the current situation is a result of that negligence.
“This is now forcing the government to go for import of gas from the global market at a higher price,” he observed.
This is a big failure that we could not diversify our energy basket and now we have to depend on import of gas for energy use, he said.
Professor Ijaz Hossain said it is a big question why the government did not move for exploration and preferred for import of gas at a higher price from the global market.
He said it is a wrong strategy to use local gas to produce fertilizer while gas is being imported for power generation.
Abul Kasem Khan said industries would inevitably bear the brunt of any price hike in the energy sector, and it may indeed pose a challenge, or even stand as an obstacle, to what everyone hopes will be a rapid and sustained recovery for the economy in the post-Covid period.
The scion of the AK Khan Group therefore views any move to raising the gas price at the moment as the 'wrong strategy'.
"The numbers being talked about would raise cost of production by upto 15 percent on average, across all sectors. That's not what you want when you're looking at your locally made products to compete in the international market, and hopefully secure some large orders for export," said Khan.
Humayun Rashid, who is better known as the managing director and CEO of Energypac than his role with the FBCCI, was unequivocal in his assessment of what effect an actual hike even close to what has been proposed to BERC would have: "It would create a bottleneck in the efforts to create the new jobs that will be necessary to accommodate all of those workers who will be looking to re-enter the active workforce. On the other hand, not hiking the price of gas would contribute more to the economy by pushing up the overall level of employment to pre-pandemic levels and hopefully beyond."
Arun Karmaker, a former special correspondent at Prothom Alo where he covered the energy sector for many years, blamed any crisis that could be forthcoming in the country's hydrocarbons sector as the inevitably bitter fruit of a longstanding culture of corruption and inefficiency that prevails even today.
BERC to announce new retail LPG price Monday morning
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will announce the new price of LPG at retail level on Monday for the current month.
Retail price of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) is being announced by the energy regulator in the first week of every month since April last year.
Also read: Retail LPG price declines by Tk 85 in 12kg container
The current price was announced on December 2 where the price of private operators’ LPG had been cut by Tk 85 to Tk 1228 per 12-kg container from Tk 1313 with effect from 6 am Friday (Dec 3) at the retail level.
BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil will announce the current month’s new LPG price through a virtual briefing at 11:30 am on Monday, said a BERC press release.
Also read: Private operators’ LPG: Price goes up again
Retail LPG price declines by Tk 85 in 12kg container
The price of private operators’ liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been decreased by Tk 85 to Tk 1228 per 12-kg container from Tk 1313 with effect from 6 am Friday (Dec 3) at the retail level.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced the new price at a press briefing on Thursday.
As per the announcement, the prices for other quantities of the LPG will also go down in line with the new price at the same ratio. The price of autogas for motor vehicles was also cut down to Tk 57.24 from the present price of Tk 61.18 per litre.
Read: Appeal for LPG price hike: decision on Sunday
Announcing the new price, BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil said the price of retail LPG has witnessed the fall as the bulk LPG of Saudi contract price (CP) has declined globally.
“Saudi CP price has declined to $765.75 from the previous price of $850 per metric ton. Bangladesh’s private LPG operators buy the bulk LPG on the basis of the Saudi CP,” he told reporters at the virtual briefing.
The other members of the BERC were present on the occasion.
The BERC chairman said the price of the state-owned LP Gas Company’s LPG will remain unchanged as it has no relation with the global market price.
Read: Beximco LPG sings deal with Jamuna Oil to sell LPG at pumps
LPG industry insiders said the Saudi CP is normally announced at the end of every month to make it effective for the next month and it takes 7-10 days for a shipment of the fuel to arrive in the country.
Most Bangladeshi private companies import their bulk LPG from the Middle East on the basis of Saudi CP and market it locally.
Responding to a question the BERC chairman said the commission is the legitimate responsible body to fix the prices of all petroleum products including petroleum fuels as per the BERC Law.
“In line with the law the commission forwarded a proposal to formulate the necessary rules in this regard to the Energy Division. But still the file did not return to BERC”, he added.
The BERC for the first time fixed the retail-level LPG price on April 12 after holding a public hearing to comply with a High Court order.
Appeal for LPG price hike: decision on Sunday
The energy regulator will announce its decision on Sunday next on the appeal of the private operators of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to re-fix the current rates of the product at the retail level.
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will announce its decision at 12 noon on October 10, said a press release on Thursday.
On September 13 last, the BERC held a public hearing at BIAM auditorium responding to the appeal of the private LPG operators to raise the current price of the fuel.
Read: LPG Price: Operators demand an increase but consumers want reduction
Participating in the hearing, right groups strongly opposed the operators’ demand for raising the LPG price.
The rights groups urged the BERC to proceed on the issue cautiously to avert litigation in higher court, while the operators insisted on increasing the price further to cover losses in their business.
Both sides placed their respective arguments during the public hearing held at the BIAM Auditorium. Convened by the BERC, it was presided over by the commission chairman Abdul Jalil. Other members of the BERC also attended the hearing.
Read: LPG prices to go up again from Sept 1
The BERC has been fixing the LPG price on a monthly basis since April 12 this year. But LPG Operators of Association of Bangladesh (LOAB) opposes the process saying that much of their costs were not calculated and considered in price fixing that resulted in losses to their business.
Public hearing on LPG pricing postponed
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has postponed its proposed public hearing on liquified petroleum gas (LPG) price fixing scheduled for July 7-8.
According to a BERC public notice, the hearing was suspended in compliance with the government’s directives against the backdrop of the countrywide strict lockdown that began on July 1.
The commission will announce a fresh date for the public hearing later, a BERC notice said.
The energy regulator had announced the scheduled public hearing responding to the appeal of the LPG operators, who oppose the present pricing formula for LPG.
Also read: Private operators demand fixing LPG price on “practical assessment” basis
The BERC held its last public hearing on LPG price fixing in January this year, and first fixed the price on April 12 after that, complying with a court order.
The LPG operators in private sector have been alleging that many of their cost components were not considered by the energy regulator while announcing the price.
As a result, their businesses have seen a huge financial loss, said Azam Chowdhury, president of LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB), a representative body of the operators.
The operators, which include LPG cylinder manufacturers, bottling plant owners, importers, and traders, demanded addition of Tk 224 for a 12-kg LPG cylinder as costs of the operators while fixing the new retail price of LPG by the BERC.
Also read: Private companies’ 12 kg LPG price reduced to Tk 842 from June 1
The LPG businesses, having a size worth around Tk 300 billion, are at stake as the consequence, they said.
A 12kg LPG, being provided by private operators, is Tk 891 for July trading, as per the BERC’s latest order. The price was Tk 842 per for June trading, Tk 906 for May trading and Tk 975 for April trading, as fixed by the BERC.
However, most of the consumers in Dhaka were buying a 12kg LPG cylinder at a price ranging between Tk 1,000 and Tk 1,100 over the past three months, traders said.
Private companies’ 12kg LPG price re-fixed at Tk 906
Further adjusting with Saudi Contract Price (CP), the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has re-fixed the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) at retail level with effect from May 1.
As per the new prices, the private companies will have to sell 12 kg LPG at Tk 906 instead of current price of Tk 975 while LP Gas Company Ltd, the state-owned company, will sell 12.5 kg LPG at Tk 591 as it has no relation with Saudi CP.
In re-fixing the price, the value of per kg of LPG was considered to be Tk 75.49 including VAT and such price will be applicable for re-fixing the price of other weighed containers.
Also read: Govt to monitor adherence to new LPG price after lockdown: Energy Secretary
The Auto gas price was also re-fixed at Tk 44.70 per litre against the current price of Tk 47 under the price adjustment procedure.
“This price will be applicable for the month of May until further adjustment in the Saudi CP,” said BERC Md Abdul Jalil, while announcing the new price through virtual briefing on Thursday.
"The private companies' LPG price was re-fixed on the basis of Saudi CP," he told reporters.
Normally Saudi biggest oil company Armaco announces its CP for bulk LPG at the concluding state of every month for next month’s transactions.
Read LPG operators to get services under one roof soon
Most of Bangladeshi private companies import their bulk LPG from the Middle-East on the basis of Saudi CP and market it in the country.
The BERC for the first time fixed the retail level LPG price on April 12 after holding a public hearing to comply with a High Court order.
About 20 private companies have been operating in the market with more than 95 per cent market share by annually importing 1.2 million metric tons of bulk LPG from mainly Middle-East while the state-owned LP Gas Company is locally producing 25,000 MTs of LPG from locally produced condensates at different gas fields.
Also read: Pvt companies’ 12 kg LPG price fixed at Tk 975, govt’s 12.5 kg at Tk 591