'Tk 14,000cr subsidy needed if gas price is not hiked'

State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid today said Tk 14,000 crore subsidy needs to be added if the government does not increase gas price.

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Berc) is yet to decide on hiking gas price, the state minister told journalists at his Secretariat office in Dhaka this morning.

The government is planning to update all old gas pipelines with prepaid connections in the capital, he said.  

The proposal to double the gas price because of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports is being met with fierce resistance as the increase stands to hit the economy, make businesses uncompetitive and fuel inflation.

BERC started the public hearing on March 11 on the proposals placed by distribution companies Titas, Bakhrabad, Jalalabad, Pashchimanchal, Karnaphuli, and Sundarban for the price hike.

Titas and Sundarban have demanded 208 percent hike for gas consumed by power plants, 211 percent for fertiliser companies, 96 percent for captive power plants, 132 percent for industries, 41 percent for commercial entities, and 50 percent for CNG-run vehicles.

They are seeking 80 percent rise in monthly gas bill for both single-burner and double-burner cooking stoves, from Tk 750 to Tk 1,350 and from Tk 800 to Tk 1,440 respectively.