Power, gas prices: Ordinance issued to adjust tariff without hearing

President Abdul Hamid issued an ordinance yesterday with a provision to allow the government to adjust the prices of gas, electricity and fuel "in special circumstances".

Officials said this has paved the way for the government to fix the tariff without holding any public hearing, which was a long-term tradition of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission.

Public hearings create scope for the consumers and stakeholders to express their opinion regarding the price hike proposals and get access to the reasoning and data of state-owned companies.

The president issued the ordinance, amending the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Act 2003, as there is no parliament session in place now. The draft amendment was approved in the cabinet last Monday.

About the necessity of the amendment, the summary of the draft ordinance mentioned that adjusting electricity and gas prices by following all the procedures mentioned in the laws and regulations is a complex and lengthy process.

But in the current global context, to ensure an uninterrupted electricity and energy supply, the tariff needs to be adjusted "fast and regularly".

Yesterday's gazette, published by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, added clause 34 (A), which mentions that in special cases, the government can fix, re-fix or adjust electricity and energy prices considering production, transmission, stock, marketing, distribution and consumption.

It would adjust the prices to ensure uninterrupted energy supply for agriculture, industries, domestic users, as well as adjust subsidies.

The ordinance also added a line to the sub-clause 34 (3) of the act, which talks about the authorisation of the commission to determine tariff.

With this addition, BERC will now need to consult with the government before any move towards holding a public hearing on retail power tariff hike proposals, reports UNB.

"We think we should first consult with the government before starting any process for public hearing on the submitted proposals," Mohammad Bazlur Rahman, member (power) of BERC, told the news agency.

The BERC hiked the new electricity bulk price by 19.92 percent recently, and the six distribution companies proposed around 20 percent price hike at retail level.

                            Experts expressed concern over this development. They said that the government bypassed the basic principle of the BERC act. "An implementing agency will now be able to fix the prices of power and energy, which is unfortunate for a country," said Prof M Shamsul Alam, a prominent energy expert.