The previous government not only turned the country into a net importer of energy, but also initiated a process to make it an import-dependent.
From the perspective of attracting FDI, the gas price hike poses a significant challenge.
The newly fixed gas tariff discriminates against new investors, as it compels them to pay 33 percent more in bills than existing ones, said Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida).
The Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (EuroCham) have expressed concern over a recent decision by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to introduce a revised gas tariff structure that differentiates between new, committed, and existing customers within the same industrial category.
From now on, new industrial connections will be charged Tk 40 per cubic metre
The caution comes as consumer prices, despite easing in the last two months, have stayed over 9 percent for the 24th month in a row
The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is going to hold a public hearing tomorrow on the proposed hike in gas prices for industrial use.
Four associations, including BGMEA, sent joint letter to the power adviser
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The garment makers have urged the government to increase gas price in phases because it is tough to tolerate a sudden big hike amid the existing volatile domestic and global economic situation.
Medical treatments are about to get costlier as production cost for manufacturing drugs will go up by at least 25 per cent following a recent hike in gas and power charges, according to manufacturers.
The latest hike of gas prices undoubtedly spells trouble for industries as they will try to shift the burden onto consumers by raising product prices, which will boomerang onto them by eating away at their competitiveness in international markets.
Due to government interventions, the independent oversight of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission is being compromised, crippling its ability to ensure transparency in the sector, energy at a reasonable cost, and consumers’ interest protection.
The latest gas price hike will increase the cost of production in the country, Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, told The Daily Star.
What impacts will the recent electricity price hike bring, in the context of the ongoing inflation?
The Consumers Association of Bangladesh took the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission to court to make them review their decision to hike gas prices and the High Court on Monday asked BERC why it was not doing so.
The increase in gas tariff in June and the fuel price hike on Saturday will have an immediate negative impact on transportation, essential commodities and electricity, said the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) yesterday.
Friday’s unprecedented hike in fuel prices, hot on the heels of increased electricity, fertiliser and gas prices, served as yet another massive blow to the people who are already struggling to barely survive amid surging living costs.
Record price hikes mark an anti-people policy shift
