‘Suspending energy price hearings violation of consumer rights’

Empowering consumers through clean energy transitions is the theme of this year’s World Consumer Rights Day, which is being celebrated today. Clean energy transition means shifting energy production away from sources that release a lot of greenhouse gases, such as fossil fuels, to those that release little to no such gases. Nuclear power, hydro, wind, and solar are some of the clean sources.

Along with different countries in the world, Bangladesh is also celebrating the day, with various government and private organisations holding different programmes. The Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection (DNCRP) says this year’s theme is relevant to the matter of energy security in the context of Bangladesh.

Its Director General AHM Shafiquzzaman told The Business Post this year's theme is very important in the context of Bangladesh and clean energy is a vital issue for the country’s environment.

“Wood would be widely used for cooking in the past, resulting in deforestation. Now the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is increasing as an alternative. Such transformation will contribute to ensuring energy security,” he said.

However, the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), a non-government organisation working to safeguard consumers’ rights, says the government has violated the rights of consumers by suspending public hearings on energy price adjustments.

Prof M Shamsul Alam, senior vice-president of CAB, told The Business Post “empowering” is the first word of this year’s World Consumer Rights Day theme but he sees no empowerment of consumers.

He said the government had violated consumers’ rights by amending the law that required the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to hold public hearings on energy price adjustments.

Now there is no opportunity for consumers to express their opinions in decision-making in this regard, he said.

The energy expert further said, “How can consumers be empowered about clean energy transitions when they have no role in even determining the prices of fossil fuel-based energy?”

He said the government had not taken into consideration the recommendations made by CAB during various public hearings on clean energy.

Clean energy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh advanced a lot in the last decade in terms of power generation based on fossil fuel, but it is still far behind when it comes to clean energy.

According to the National Bureau of Asian Research based in the US, Bangladesh’s current energy consumption from clean sources, including off-grid ones, is only 3.5 per cent, which is in stark contrast to other nations.

Renewable or clean energy was estimated to account for 22.4 per cent of all electricity generated in Japan in 2021. In many European countries, the annual share of electricity generated from renewables exceeded 40 per cent in 2021.

Although Bangladesh has taken various steps to boost the share of renewable energy, most of them have been unsuccessful.

According to the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority under the Power Division, the installed capacity of the country’s renewable energy is only 958.72MW.

Handling rights violations

In case of a violation of consumer rights, they can complain to the DNCRP. However, the directorate’s director general said they had not received that many complaints about energy.

Shafiquzzaman said the number of energy-related complaints is very small but consumers can still complain.

“If consumers file complaints that LPG has not been sold at official prices, we can take action. But we are not the authority to fix prices.”

According to Section 54 of the BERC act, consumers of energy service providers can complain to them. The service providers have to settle the complaint within seven days of receiving it.

If the complaint is not resolved within seven days, the complainant can appeal to the BERC, requesting it to take action against the service providers. After seven days of receiving the appeal, the commission will issue an order.

Every year, consumers celebrate the World Consumer Rights Day on March 15. The day aims to raise global awareness of consumer rights, protection, and empowerment.

On March 15 in 1962, the then US president John F Kennedy delivered a speech to the Congress on consumer rights. Since 1983, the day has been celebrated around the world to commemorate that event.