Household Gas: SC clears way for price hike

Households will see their monthly gas bill go up by Tk 150 from June 1, as the Supreme Court cleared the way for increasing the energy price yesterday.

The Appellate Division stayed until June 5 the High Court order that stayed the authorities' decision to increase the gas price in the second phase in just three months.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, chamber judge of the apex court, passed the order in response to a petition filed by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) seeking a stay on the HC order. He also sent the petition to the full bench of the Appellate Division to hold a hearing on Monday.

There is now no legal bar for the government to hike the gas price from June 1, said Attorney General Mahbubey Alam who appeared in court on behalf of BERC. 

The HC on February 28 stayed for six months the government's decision to enforce a further increase in gas price within a span of three months after the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) filed a petition questioning the legality of the move.

Households using double burners have been paying Tk 800 a month each from March 1 and single burners Tk 750 after the energy regulator raised gas prices for all consumers by 22.7 percent.

While announcing the gas price hike on February 23, BERC said the prices would be increased again by Tk 150 in the second phase. Therefore, the monthly gas bill for a double burner will be Tk 950 and for a single burner Tk 900 from June 1.

All other consumers such as CNG (compressed natural gas) users, commercial users, power plants, users of captive generators, fertilizer companies, industries, tea gardens and households using metres will also have to pay more due to the increase for the second time.

Architect Mubassher Hossain, convenor of the national complaints' handling committee of CAB, had filed the writ petition challenging the legality of the price hike. He argued that the authorities could increase gas prices once a year under the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act 2003.

The two-phase increase means households and commercial users would see a 50 percent increase in their monthly gas bills this year.

Gas prices for households have been doubled over the last eight years.

This time, the CNG price has gone up to Tk 38 per cubic metre from Tk 35. It will be Tk 40 from June 1. The gas price for power plants will go up to Tk 3.16 per cubic metre from Tk 2.99 now.

The industries that use generators for producing electricity from gas will have to pay Tk 9.62 per cubic metre from June 1, up from Tk 8.98 at present. 

The price hike comes at a time when all consumers, including households and industries, are experiencing a shortage of gas supply.

In August last year, trade bodies, rights groups and energy experts opposed the government move to increase gas prices at public hearings on the distributors' proposals for increasing the prices.

While announcing the price hike, BERC Chairman Monowar Islam in February said the prices would be increased in two phases so that consumers didn't feel a sudden squeezing of their purchasing power.

Advocate Subrata Chowdhury and advocate Mohammad Saiful Alam appeared for CAB.

Saiful Alam told The Daily Star that although there was no bar to increasing the gas prices, he and Subrata would present arguments against the hike during Monday's hearing.