The energy regulator has re-fixed the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) of private companies.

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) yesterday reduced the retail price of LPG by around 7 percent. According to the new rate, retailers will have to sell 12kg gas in LPG cylinder at Tk 906, down from the existing price of Tk 975.

The new price will become effective from next month, BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil said while announcing the new price at a virtual press conference.

He said they re-fixed the price as per the new rate of the Saudi Contract Price for May.

The contract price rate set by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) each month is the dominant price for LPG in Asia and elsewhere in the world.

BERC chairman added that they would revise the price every month based on the price in the international market.

However, the commission did not re-fix the price of the LPG gas sold by the state-owned Liquid Petroleum Gas Ltd (LPGL). The current price of gas sold by company in 12.5kg LPG cylinders is Tk 591.

With the new price rate, the BERC has set the LPG price twice in a month. On April 12, the commission fixed the retail price of LPG for the first time.

But many consumers expressed concern over the implementation of the new price as the regulatory body could not execute the decision of its previous price rates.

Consumers from different districts alleged that the LPG distributors and the retailers did not follow the rates set by the regulatory body on April 12.

Idris Ali, a resident of Dohar upazila in Dhaka, said he bought 12kg gas for Tk 1,030 last week. "No matter how much the government reduces the price of gas, we do not get the benefit. We will not get gas at government-fixed prices," he said.

Mozammel Haque, a shopkeeper in Jamalpur, said he had been buying LPG between Tk 980 and Tk 1,000 for long. "I could not purchase LPG at  government-fixed rates yet."

Seeking anonymity, a resident of Cumilla's Chauddagram, said he bought 12kg gas at Tk 1,050 from the upazila town this week.

At yesterday's briefing, Ruhin Hossain Prince, central committee member of Communist Party of Bangladesh, said the BERC earlier fixed the price at Tk 975 only to protect the traders' interests. But traders did not implement that rate.

The BERC chairman said they learnt from various sources that new prices were not being implemented at the retail level.

"We will take actions based on specific allegations against the distributors for selling gas at higher prices," he said.

The BERC, as a single regulatory authority, on April 12 fixed the retail price of LPG for the first time in Bangladesh.

Previously, the state-owned and private companies used to set their prices separately.