Maqsudul Haque, the acting head of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), yesterday ruled out any plan to exercise the provision of the regulator’s executive order to hike the price of gas. Talking to The Independent, he said the decision to announce the new gas price would come from the highest level. “It’s just a matter of time. The decision will eventually come.” The tenure of Maqsudul Haque ends on December 23. Rumours are rife that he may declare a new price before that to please the government and have his term extended.
To do that, Haque must use the provision of executive order, which the BERC can resort to as the regulator. He can to do that because the five-member energy commission currently has two members including the acting chairman. The other member is Rahman Murshed.
To decide a new price for gas, at least three of the five commission members including the chairman have to be present to complete the quorum.
When asked, Haque told The Independent that the decision to announce a new gas price had nothing to do with his tenure. “I don’t see how the announcement of a new price would help me to get my tenure extended.”
He also said the commission had no intention of exercising the provision of the executive order.
Sources in the commission said the announcement of a price hike before December 23 would negatively impact the prospects of the ruling party candidate in the Narayanganj City Corporation election.
Besides, the government did not want the new price to be

effective from January, but February.  Several BERC officials, however, believe the acting chairman might declare the price hike on his own before his term ended. That would not be good for the commission, they said.
They added a price hike effected through an executive order instead of the decision of a full quorum could invite legal action by consumers.
Shamsul Alam, energy advisor to the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said that they considered any price hike to be “illegal”. “It doesn’t matter whether the commission increases the price through a full quorum or through an executive order,” he said.
Alam said there was no need to raise the gas price. “Gas companies had failed to provide any reason or rationale behind such a move. Under the circumstances, the CAB will strongly protest if the government increase the price,” he said.