BERC rejects Bakhrabad plea for gas price hike
Staff Reporter
A committee of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) yesterday rejected a proposal for a gas price hike by Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Ltd, saying that the company did not need to increase its distribution charges. The decision of the technical evaluation committee (TEC) of the energy regulator came on the fourth day of the eight-day-long hearing at the BERC conference room. The TEC, headed by AKM Monowar Hossain Akanda, observed that the BGDCL does not need to increase the gas prices. It observed that the recommended revenue requirement for BGDCL was Tk. 1,741 million for the 201617 fiscal year, considering Tk. 0.2956 per cubic metre as the transmission charge for Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) on a cost-plus basis. Earlier, BGDCL had submitted a proposal to increase gas prices by 94.92 per cent on a weighted average basis. It asked the energy regulator to increase domestic gas prices from the existing Tk. 600 and Tk. 650 for single and double burners to Tk. 1,100 and Tk. 1,200 respectively.
