Amid complaints that LPG cannot be bought at the official price, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has moved to adjust prices again. It will hold a public hearing on 29 October on proposals to change consumer prices, covering increases in bottling, distribution and retail charges or margins.
On 4 October BERC raised the price of a 12 kg private LPG cylinder by Tk 252 to Tk 1,837, up from Tk 1,585 in September. Autogas for vehicles rose from Tk 73.09 to Tk 84.62 a litre. A 12.5 kg cylinder was set at Tk 1,913, a 15 kg at Tk 2,296 and a 45 kg at Tk 6,888.
In the new proposals, the companies want the bottling charge raised from Tk 15-16 a kilogram to Tk 25-30, the distributor charge from Tk 4.17 to Tk 8.33 and the retailer charge from Tk 3.75 to Tk 10. Separately, distributors have asked for their charge on a 12 kg cylinder to rise from Tk 50 to Tk 150 and retailers from Tk 45 to Tk 70. BERC cannot raise these charges without a public hearing.
"A hearing doesn't mean the price will go up," a BERC official said. "We will hear their demands and their arguments."
On 12 October the LP Gas Traders' Cooperative Society called a two-day nationwide shutdown of gas shops in protest at harassment; it was withdrawn on 14 October after a meeting with power, energy and mineral resources minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud and commerce minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, and BERC's announcement of a hearing. Society president Selim Khan alleges that five large companies hold the LPG market hostage, that about 30 million cylinders lie idle and that some 15 companies cannot open letters of credit to import LPG. The traders want companies barred from changing prices mid-month without BERC's approval.
Reported by Sanchita Situ for Bangla Tribune.
Photo: LPG cylinders (illustrative), Evil Monkey / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Source: Bangla Tribune
Comments
(0)