The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is likely to reduce the license fees on the use of captive and stand-by generators having capacity above one megawatt (MW) by industrial units.
"We are considering reviewing the rate of license fees on use of captive and stand-by electricity generators following demands made by various trade bodies," the BERC Chairman Golam Rahman told the FE Friday.
He further said the Commission would take a decision regarding the license fees after the expiry of the timeframe for obtaining licenses by the users concerned on June 30, 2008.
The requirement of license fees is in accordance with the sections 27 and 28 of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act 2003, he noted.
Earlier, the BERC vide Public Notice No. BERC/Admin-115/1427 dated 10th January 2008 made obtaining of licenses for the use of captive/stand-by generators beyond 1 MW mandatory for all concerned. The timeframe was later extended by two months.
According to the provision, the users of captive and stand-by generators are to pay license fees varying from Tk 0.5 million to Tk 2.5 million per generator depending on their generation capacity
Expressing their deep concern at the BERC's public notice, country's top business leaders earlier urged the government to immediately intervene into the issue and exempt the users of own captive and stand-by generators from paying such a large amount in license fees by withdrawing and modifying the public notice.
In a joint statement, the business leaders also observed that the BERC's provision for payment of exorbitant license fees would hit the country's larger industries hard.
In the current energy crisis, industries which installed generators at a huge cost and are using the same much to the relief of the national electricity network, deserve to be provided with policy and other support instead of being penalised by the requirement of payment of licence fees, the business leaders said.
They, however, suggested that the Commission should amend the relevant provision of the regulations for the sake of the country's industrial growth.
Meanwhile, some business associations including the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) had formally made their appeals to the Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed, seeking exemption of such license fees.
