CAB seeks cut in power, petroleum prices
The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) has urged the government to reduce electricity and petroleum prices to facilitate a smooth recovery for the country's economy, which has been ravaged by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to a press release issued yesterday.
"It is urgent to cut prices by rationalising the expenditure in distribution cost of fuel and power," said CAB Adviser for Energy Prof M Shamsul Alam in an application to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC).
The application comes at a time when a large section of people are suffering from a loss of income amid the pandemic.
The consumers' purchasing capacity has also declined in an unusual fashion, he said.
"Consumer spending is very low now. As a result, the government is not getting revenue. Consumer spending will not increase unless prices of goods and services decline," said Alam.
Due to these circumstances, the prices of fuel and power have to be slashed in order to bring down production cost so that the prices of goods and services remain low, said the CAB.
In a 13-point proposal to the BERC, the CAB, among others, made an appeal to fix the production cost of electricity and its tariff by excluding capacity charge of rental power plants and suspending power generation by more than 20-year-old-power plants in the both public and private sectors.