Policy on the cards to fix price of blending gas
State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid has said a long-term policy will be framed to fix the price of natural gas after its blend with imported LNG so that industries can take long-term investment plans.
"The government doesn't want to do business with imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). Rather, our priority is to make sure that the industries are getting imported gas at a fair price," he said while addressing a views-exchange meeting at the Petro Centre in the city.
The Energy and Mineral Resource Division arranged the meeting with the representatives from different stakeholders in the gas sector to discuss the strategy to supply the imported LNG to the industries and commercial customers.
With Energy Secretary Nazimuddin Chowdhury in the chair, the meeting was also addressed by Prime Minister's Energy Advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Commerce Secretary Suvasis Basu, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) Chairman Monwar Islam, Petrobangla Chairman Abul Mansur Mohammad Faijullah, PDB Chairman Khaled Mahmood, BCIC Chairman Shah Mohammad Aminul Haque, Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain, President of Independent Power Producers Association Latif Khan, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association President Tapan Chowdhury and Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association General Secretary Farhan Noor.
Nasrul Hamid said there should be a specific long-term plan to utilise the imported LNG after mixing it with local gas and fix the gas price. "Once there's a sustainable price management plan, it'll help entrepreneurs take proper investment plans. The gas sector needs to take up plans in an expediting manner."
He observed that it has been a matter of frustration that businessmen are not getting real-time data about their gas consumption.
The state minister asked the Petreobangla to ensure that consumers are paying bill against their exact use of gas.
He also directed the Petrobangla to resolve the low-pressure problem in the gas supply.
Nasrul Hamid's remarks came against the backdrop of frequent allegations by industrial consumers that they have to pay bill even when they do not use gas due to low pressure.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi said businessmen will not face any difficulty in making profit in business if even gas price is raised in the new perspective of imported gas.
He advised the small power generation plants to go for co-generation and tri-generation to enhance their efficiency in energy use.
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