The Crime Desk: The new gas price for the industrial sector is coming today, Sunday (April 13). It is learned that the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will announce the new price structure through a formal press conference in the afternoon.
Currently, industrial customers are paying a bill at the rate of 30 taka per cubic meter of gas. BERC said that those who have already received gas connections will receive gas at the previously fixed rate. However, there is talk that the gas price for newly connected industrial establishments may be set at 40 to 45 taka.
Petrobangla had earlier proposed that the price for existing customers (industrial and captive) should be kept unchanged at 30 and 31.75 taka, respectively, while the gas price should be increased for newly connected and promised (those whose connections have been approved) customers.
The proposal says that half of the gas bills of promised customers should be collected at the existing rate, and the other half at the rate of 75.72 taka.
And for new industries and captive customers, it was proposed to increase the gas price from 30 and 31.75 taka to 75.72 taka directly.
BERC organized a public hearing on this proposal on February 26, where Petrobangla claimed that if the price is not increased, there could be a deficit of about 16 thousand crore taka per year. However, at the hearing, businessmen and representatives of various industry organizations strongly objected to Petrobangla’s proposal.
Especially in the industry, there was a lot of criticism about the issue of setting two types of prices. Entrepreneurs argued that setting different prices for existing and new customers in the same sector would create ‘uneven competition’ in the industrial sector. This could discourage new investments, which would have a negative impact on the overall industrial development and economic growth of the country.
With today’s announcement, there is anxiety among industrial owners about which aspect BERC will prioritize in determining the final price. Many say that this decision could become a decisive milestone for the industrial sector in the future.
