Proposal to increase gas prices in the industrial sector by 2.5 times. The Bangladesh Oil, Gas, and Mineral Resources Corporation (Petrobangla) has suggested an increase in industrial gas pricing. The proposal suggests hiking the gas price per cubic meter from the current 30.75 taka to 75.72 taka, 2.5 times increase.
Proposal to increase gas prices: Petrobangla filed its proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on Monday (January 6), after permission from the Ministry of Energy. However, a decision on whether to approve the plan will be made in February.
Barrister Mohammad Khalilur Rahman Khan, Secretary of BERC, said Tuesday afternoon (January 7) that the idea would be reviewed at the commission’s next meeting on February 2.
Petrobangla’s proposal states that old customers will be billed at the new prices for any gas usage above their allowed load. According to the records for the period November 2023 to October of the preceding year, the industrial sector consumed 14.78 crore cubic meters of gas and 5.76 crore cubic meters of gas for captive power production above the authorized load.
According to Petrobangla, the average cost of generating gas locally is 6.07 taka per unit. However, using imported LNG costs more than 75 taka per unit. As a result, the corporation is experiencing substantial financial losses.
Petrobangla has said that LNG imports may result in a deficit of 16,162 crore taka in the current fiscal year (2024-25). The new idea aims to shift the whole expense of LNG imports to the industrial sector.
If this proposal to raise gas prices is adopted, the industrial sector’s costs will increase. This will boost production costs, thereby affecting industry competitiveness.
Proposal to increase gas prices…
