Businesses on Saturday said that any decision of hiking the prices of gas and electricity would be ‘suicidal’ for the economy amid soaring inflation.
They said that the hike in prices of gas and power would increase the cost of production and commodity prices, affecting consumers.
‘Under the circumstances, the increase of gas and electricity prices will fuel the inflation further and the ongoing development activities will be hampered severely,’ said Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries president Md Jashim Uddin at a press conference.
The apex trade body arranged the press conference at its headquarters in the capital opposing the proposed hike in energy prices.
The technical evaluation committee of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission has recently proposed to increase the price of gas by 20 per cent and electricity by 58 per cent amid opposition from consumer rights activists.
The state-owned gas companies proposed to raise tariffs and charges of gas by an average of 117 per cent while the Power Development Board proposed to increase the electricity price by 66 per cent.
In his written speech, the FBCCI president said that the applications from the state-owned companies for increasing prices of gas and electricity proved that they were not operating transparently, efficiently and maintaining accountability as per the laws of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission.
He said that without total reform of the power and energy sector making people and industry bear the prices for its mismanagement would not be accepted.
Urging the authorities not to renew the contracts of oil-based rental power plants, the FBCCI president said that time had come to stop quick rentals and go for gas and coal-based electricity production to bring the cost down.
‘Keeping 1,000-megawatt capacity gas-based power plants idle, oil-based plants are being used frequently. The industry could not bear the cost of the wrong policy,’ Jashim said.
If the hike in gas and electricity prices appears rational, the business community will help the government implement it but it is not the right time, the apex trade body chief said.
‘Quick rental power generation increases the cost of electricity and it is no more required for Bangladesh. If necessary 1 or 2 hours of load-shedding in a day can be allowed for the less productive sector but a fresh renewal of oil-based power plants should not be allowed, Jashim said.
He said that the country’s export sector has been losing its competitiveness in the global market as the price of raw materials increased excessively due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is fueling inflation worldwide, he added.
The FBCCI demanded that the government suspend the initiative of increasing the prices of gas and electricity for the time being adding that inflation would create instability in the country otherwise.
Demanding exploration of new gas fields, Jashim said that the capacity of BAPEX should be increased and also the state-owned oil and gas exploration company should be made accountable.
Mirza Nurul Ghani, president of the National Association of Small & Cottage Industries of Bangladesh, said that the tariff hike for gas and electricity should be a political decision instead of a bureaucratic decision.
He demanded the political leadership make a decision in this regard through discussion with FBCCI.
Bangladesh Textile Mills Association president Mohammad Ali Khokon said that there was no reason for increasing the price of gas when Titas gained a net profit of Tk 1,170 crore in the past three years.
He said that Petrobangla owned 75 per cent of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited and it received Tk 549 crore as dividends in the past three years.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Shahidullah Azim said that the increase in gas and electricity prices would erode the competitiveness of the export sector in the global market and Bangladesh's economy would be affected negatively.
Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association said that the price hike of gas and electricity would be suicidal for the industry.
