BERC initiates public hearing to fix prices of petroleum products

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has initiated a public hearing process to fix the prices of petroleum products, similar to how prices for other energy utilities, including natural gas and electricity, are determined.

The commission is set to hold its first-ever hearing today (Sunday) to fix the price of Jet A-1 fuel.

State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has long been fixing the price of jet fuel, also known as aviation fuel, on its own for both domestic and international flights. With the movement in the price of jet fuel, the prices of air tickets for both domestic and international routes will also change.

The BPC has already placed a proposal to the BERC to adjust the jet fuel prices in line with the price movements of international market. It also proposed adjusting the price of furnace oil, but the BERC has yet to fix any date of public hearing.

However, the BPC has not yet proposed setting the prices of other petroleum products like diesel, kerosene, octane and petrol.

Earlier on March 1, the government fixed the prices of diesel and kerosene at Tk 105 per litre, octane at Tk 126 per litre and petrol at Tk 122  per for the month of March under the automatic fuel pricing formula. These rates remain unchanged from February.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) also published a gazette over the petroleum prices for March.

The government first introduced the automatic fuel pricing formula on March 7, 2024. It usually uses Platts' oil product assessments or benchmarks to set refined oil products, while for crude oil, it looks at S&P Global Platts' Dated Brent benchmark when buying from the international market.

Azizjst@yahoo.com