The energy regulator has raised the prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), supplied by private operators, across the board for February trading.
It also constituted a technical evaluation committee to review the proposals for increasing natural gas prices.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Chairman Md Abdul Jalil made the disclosures at a virtual briefing on Thursday.
As per the announcement, the retail price of mostly used 12kg cylinders increased by Tk 62 or 5.26 per cent to Tk 1,240 from Tk 1,178 in January.
The price of state-owned LP Gas's LPG remains unchanged at Tk 591 for a 12.5kg cylinder.
The new prices take immediate effect.
The BERC chairman said the commission constituted the committee to review the proposals for increasing the tariff of natural gas for different types of consumers.
A public hearing on the proposals will be held after submission of the committee report, he added.
According to a source, the hearing might take place next month (March).
The BERC increased the LPG prices considering the February contract price (CP) of Saudi Aramco - a benchmark followed in the domestic market. It also considered fluctuations of foreign currency and change in the value added tax (VAT).
The Saudi Aramco CP of propane for February trading is US$775 per tonne and butane $775 per tonne. The BERC considered the propane and butane mixture at the ratio of 35:65 to get the average price of $775 per tonne.
The BERC fixes the LPG prices of private operators within the first week of every month.
The private operators will be able to sell LPG through different sizes of cylinders like 5.5 kg, 12.5kg, 15kg, 16kg, 18kg, 20kg, 22kg, 25kg, 30kg, 35kg, 45kg to consumers at proportionately higher prices in February, he said.
Price for LPG to be supplied through a reticulated system, or centralised storage system, will be Tk 100.10 per kg including VAT instead of the previous Tk 94.94 per kg.
The retail price of auto gas, the LPG used in vehicles, for February also rose to Tk 57.81 per litre including VAT compared to Tk 54.47 per litre in January.
Regarding tariff hike for piped natural gas, the BERC chairman said that the planned public hearing would be a several-day session.
State-run Petrobangla along with its subsidiary gas marketing and distribution companies have proposed doubling the gas tariffs for all consumers on the grounds of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) at high prices.
They submitted the proposals separately to the BERC, seeking the price hike across the board - the weighted average rate of the proposed hike is 117.41 per cent to Tk 20.35 per cubic metre from the existing rate of Tk 9.36 per cubic metre.
They proposed to raise tariffs for industrial consumers to Tk 23.24 per cubic metre from Tk10.70.
For household consumers having single-burner stoves, the gas firms proposed to raise the monthly charge to Tk 2,000 from the existing Tk 925 per month, while for double-burner users to Tk 2,100 per month from Tk 975.
They want to raise tariffs for the metered household consumers to Tk 27.37 per cubic metre from existing Tk 12.60 per cubic metre.
Natural gas tariffs for power plants and fertiliser factories have been proposed up to Tk 9.66 per cubic metre from Tk 4.45.
For captive power plants, they proposed a new rate at Tk 30.09 per cubic metre from existing Tk 13.85.
The gas companies seek to raise the CNG price at the retail level to Tk 76.04 per cubic metre from Tk 35.
Gas tariffs for small and cottage industries have been proposed at Tk 37.02 per cubic metre in a steep rise from Tk 17.04.
For hotels and restaurants the gas firms have proposed to hike tariffs to Tk 49.97 per cubic metre from Tk 23.0.
The gas marketing and distribution companies have sought to hike tariffs for tea estates to Tk 23.24 per cubic metre from existing Tk 10.70.
Azizjst@yahoo.com
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