Govt worried about high gas prices

Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said the government is concerned about the customers' dissatisfaction with the new gas pricing.

"Prices must be kept at a tolerable level," he told journalists yesterday while inspecting the zonal office of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company in Dhaka's Tikatuli area.

"The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission [Berc] has been advised to ensure that the hiked prices are at a tolerable level [for consumers]."

He also said the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation is now incurring a loss of an average of Tk 10 crore by selling diesel every day.

"United efforts will be made to reduce energy wastage and to increase awareness on the economic use of natural gas," he said, adding that natural gas exploration activities are ongoing.

He spoke on issues related to the automation process, prepaid metre and the irregularities of Titas.

A price hike for pipeline gases was proposed recently by the state-owned Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation.

It wanted to raise the price of single burners from Tk 925 to Tk 2,000, and double burners from Tk 975 to Tk 2,100 in residential areas.

Berc, who is in charge of regulating gas prices, approved the proposal and formed a technical committee to evaluate it. After getting a report, they will hold a public hearing.