The government has increased the gas transmission charges by an executive order on Thursday.
Transmission charges of Gas Transmission Company (GTCL) have been increased Tk 1.2 from Tk 0.47 (per cubic meter). The new charges came into effect from July 1. However, consumer gas prices remain unchanged.
Besides, the charges of Petrobangla, Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited, Bapex and Sylhet Gas Fields Limited have been increased by around 60 per cent. A notification in this regard has been issued by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
The last public hearing on gas prices was held in March last year. The gas distribution companies had appealed for hike in gas prices as well as distribution charges.
In that hearing, the BERC Technical Committee report said that all the companies are in profit. The hearing found that companies with higher non-operating income, remain profitable even if they do not collect distribution charges.
Meanwhile, the company is profitable by paying thousands of crores of taka in bank deposits and various fees. For this reason, the BERC Technical Committee only recommended paying charges to Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company of Chattagram region.
It is recommended to reduce the then existing rate of KGDCL from TK 0.25 to Tk 0.9 per cubic meter. Besides it is recommended to abolish the distribution charges of others gas distribution companies.
