Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission staff committee on Monday reported that the Gas Transmission Company Ltd would need Tk 0.13 for transporting each cubic metre of gas, keeping the company in profit by Tk 349.29 crore a year.
The staff committee submitted its report at a public hearing on the state-run GTCL proposed hike in gas transmission charge by 134.37 per cent, up from Tk 0.32 per cubic metre to Tk 0.43, in three phases.
GTCL wanted the hike saying that its cost of operation shot up due to the government’s expansion programmes in gas transmission, most of them were not financially viable.
The gas transmission company, however, is making profit every year — Tk 318.53 crore in 2010-11 financial year, Tk 407.57 crore in 2011-12 financial year, Tk 406.08 crore in 2012-13 financial year and Tk 425.88 crore in 2013-14 financial year.
The company has also increased the amount money reserved as FDR to Tk 944 crore in 2013-14 financial year from Tk 818 crore in the previous fiscal.
In the hearing, presided over by the BERC chairman AR Khan, the GTCL officials failed to reply a number of gray areas about the revision of wheeling charge, development projects, profit bonus sharing and recruitment process.
Stakeholders including the representatives from Consumer Association of Bangladesh, business bodies and left democratic organisations attended the hearing.
The Democratic Left Alliance, a combine of eight left leaning political parties, held two hour mass sit in programme at 11:00 am in front of the BERC at Kawran Bazar in the city protesting the government plan to raise gas price another time.
The BERC staff committee in its report disclosed that GTCL, without taking approval of the commission, had increased the wheeling charge to Tk 0.32 per cubic metre from Tk 0.295 which was major violation of laws and regulations related to the energy sector.
The commission on December 8, 2009 set the wheeling charge at Tk 0.295 per cubic metre but the GTCL on January 1, 2010 increased it to Tk 0.32 per cubic metre.
Asked by CAB energy adviser Shamsul Alam, the GTCL officials said that every employee, excepting the managing director and board members, received about Tk 400,000 as profit bonus of the company in the last fiscal year.
The commission is scheduled for today to host two hearings on the proposals of gas price hike placed by Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company and Pashchimanchal Gas Company.
It will hear the arguments on the proposals of the other four gas distribution companies in the next two days.
The gas distribution companies appealed for increasing the price of gas for double burners in households by 122 per cent, up from Tk 450 per month to Tk 1,000, and that for single burners by 112.5 per cent, up from Tk 400 to Tk 850.
They appealed for gas price hike for pre-paid meter users in households by 60.68 per cent, up from Tk 146.25 per cubic metre to Tk 235 per cubic metre.
The companies also wanted to increase the gas prices for power plants, which do not feed electricity to the national grid, for commercial consumers by 30.55 per cent, industries by 32.6 per cent and for tea estates by 20.55 per cent, for power plants feeding the grid by 5.24 per cent and for fertiliser factories by 9.71 per cent.
According to the appeals, for CNG filling stations, the price per cubic metre will be increased to Tk 32, up from Tk 23, which will force retail consumers to pay Tk 40 a unit, up from Tk 30.