If the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is strengthened, more than half of the power and fuel sectors can be reformed. Sector stakeholders are not satisfied with the pace of strengthening BERC.

Although the interim government has been in power for 3 months, there has been little visible progress in the fundamental issues of BERC. The light of hope that Fauzul Kabir Khan, Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, spread on the first day of taking office (the Special Provisions Act was suspended and the price determination of electricity and gas was canceled by executive orders) is fading out day by day.

On his first day at the ministry, he announced that there would be no more contracts under the controversial special law (the Immunity Act). All work will be done through open tenders. The adviser has kept his word, and even the pressure of many pressure groups could not sway him. He also showed his determination by rejecting the proposal of the American company Accelerate, which was waiting for a contract under the special law.

On the first day, he announced another milestone to strengthen BERC. He announced that the government would not adjust electricity and gas prices through executive orders, but BERC would set the prices. His initiative was widely praised, applauded by consumer organizations including CAB. Within a few days, the clause of adjusting electricity and gas prices was abolished through an executive order on August 27. Many were optimistic that the new BERC would become dynamic and strong. But even after 3 months, the obstacles to strengthening BERC still remain.

In 2003, the Energy Regulatory Commission was formed as a neutral and quasi-judicial institution through the passage of the Act. BERC, formed to ensure the accountability of gas and electricity companies and consumer rights, originally started its journey in 2009. So far, 13 regulations have been formulated. 12 of its regulations have been pending approval for more than a decade.

Although the law has the authority to determine the prices of all types of fuels, BERC has been determining the prices of only gas and electricity as regulations are pending. Section 34(3) states that BERC shall formulate regulations. However, there is a condition that the government can determine them by notification until the regulations are formulated. Since the petroleum regulations have not been approved, the price of fuel oil has been determined through notifications in a hurry. In 2023, the law was suddenly amended and a provision for price adjustment (lower/higher) was added to the executive order. Since then, the quasi-judicial institution has practically become unemployed as the prices of gas and electricity have been determined by executive order.

Sector-related people became optimistic about the initiative of the interim government. Many thought that the regulations would be approved this time. Initiatives were also taken from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division. However, even after 3 months, not much progress is visible.

BERC Chairman Jalal Ahmed told Barta24.com, the regulations were submitted to the ministry even before I joined. I am insisting on approving these after joining. However, the issue of combining the three separate regulations of fuel oil (distribution, transmission and retail sale) has come to the fore. We have sent the three together. I hope that approval will be obtained soon.

In addition to the regulations, there is a clear crisis in manpower. For this, a new manpower structure was created in 2017. In 2014, 200 more posts were created along with the 81 posts approved. The Ministry of Public Administration reduced it to 118. Two years later (in 2019), the Finance Department approved the appointment in two phases. Then another two years passed. In March 2021, the meeting of the Secretary Committee on Administrative Development approved 65 posts in the revenue sector. This mentioned 146 manpower including the previous 81 and the proposed 65 posts.

BERC prepared the distribution of responsibilities for the 146 posts. According to the instructions of the Ministry of Public Administration, the Prime Minister's approval is required for the creation of Grade-3 and above posts. Since there were 4 such posts, it was sent to the Prime Minister's Office on April 5, 2021. The Prime Minister did not approve it and sent it back asking for an explanation of the rationale. The manpower structure was again suspended. After the change in the political landscape, BERC sent it for the approval of the Chief Adviser on August 18. It has been almost 3 months but it has not seen the light of day. Due to which disappointment is increasing again.

On the other hand, after the fall of the Awami League government, Chairman Norul Amin and the members of the commission resigned in the face of the movement of officials and employees at all levels. The interim government appointed only the chairman. As 4 member posts of the commission are vacant, there is stagnation in the commission. It is known that many works are being hampered due to the lack of a full commission.

Former BERC member (administration) Mohammad Abu Faruk told Barta24.com that if BERC is reformed, half of the energy sector will be reformed. If it is given full powers according to the law, a lot of corruption will stop. In many countries, including India, to enter into any agreement, approval from the Regulatory Commission is required. If it can be done in our country too, then they will see whether it is really necessary or not, and whether the price is reasonable or not? If there is a domestic interest, they will approve it. It is possible to save thousands of crores of taka at the macro level.

Former BERC member Maqbul E-Elahi Chowdhury told Barta24.com, the biggest reform will be done if BERC is implemented. If BERC is strong, many corruption and irregularities will automatically stop. It is surprising why the regulations have not been approved even after 3 months.

CAB's Energy Adviser Dr. M Shamsul Alam told Barta24.com, we want to see BERC strong and effective in the future. So far, the government's position on the BERC issue has been very clear to us. They are also determining the price of fuel oil following the path of the previous government. They are speaking in the tone of the previous government. We are monitoring the situation, if necessary; we have obtained the order to announce the price of LPG. The CAB will not hesitate to walk that path on the fuel oil issue.

At one time, the companies used to determine the price of LPG, and when the CAB went to court, BERC was forced to do so.

Consumers said that there is an evil competition for profits among the distribution companies. It has also been seen that the staff of the company received profit bonuses of up to Tk. 18 lakhs per year. In these cases, they had to face some accountability in the public hearing of the BERC. That place was also closed. Public hearings played an indirect role in preventing corruption and waste of the companies. There was a fear that their irregularities would be exposed. But there is no such attention to strengthen that BERC.

Dhaka: The price of gold has dropped again in the country's market. This time, the price has decreased by a maximum of Tk. 2 thousand 519  per bhori. As a result, the price of a good quality, i.e. 22-carat gold, has been fixed at Tk. 1 lakh 36 thousand 189.

The Bangladesh Jewelers Association (BAJUS) gave this information in a notification on Tuesday (November 12) evening.

The organization said in a notification that the new price will be effective from tomorrow, Wednesday.

The notification said that the price of pure gold in the local market has decreased. According to the new price, the price of 22-carat gold per bhori (11.664 grams) will be Tk. 1 lakh 36 thousand 189 . In addition, the price of 21-carat gold per bhori has been fixed at Tk. 1 lakh 29 thousand 995 , 18-carat gold per bhori at Tk. 1 lakh 11 thousand 426  and the price of traditional gold per bhori at Tk. 91 thousand 411.

The notification also states that the government-determined 5 percent VAT and the Bajus-determined minimum wage of 6 percent must be added to the selling price of gold. However, the wage may vary depending on the design and quality of the jewelry.

Earlier, Bajus had last adjusted the price of gold in the country's market on November 7. At that time, the organization had reduced the price of a 22-carat gold bhori by Tk. 3,453 to Tk. 1,38,708. In addition, the price of 21-carat bhori was fixed at Tk. 1,32,398, 18-carat bhori at Tk. 1,13,491 and the price of traditional gold per bhori at Tk. 93,160 which came into effect from November 8. 

Inefficient captives are consuming valuable gas, power plants are sitting idle. With 1 million cubic feet of gas captives generate about 4 megawatts of electricity, while combined cycle power plants are capable of generating 6 megawatts of electricity with the same amount of gas.

That is, it is possible to get one and a half times more electricity with the same amount of gas. Yet, by installing power plants, imported gas is going to captives (producing electricity with their own generators) at high prices. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, a total of 9,724 million cubic meters of gas was supplied to power plants, while 5,310 million cubic meters were supplied to captives during the same period.

There has always been a cover-up about the number of captive power plants and the demand for gas. Petrobangla's gas production report states that on November 7 (2024), 891 million cubic feet of gas was supplied to power plants, while only 102 million cubic feet were supplied to captives. That is, one-ninth.

Although Petrobangla's production report provides such a report, the annual reports of the six companies responsible for gas distribution say otherwise. The gas sales statistics of the largest distribution company, Titas Gas, in its 2022-23 fiscal year report show that the company supplied 3,285 million cubic meters of gas to power plants that year and supplied 4,330 million cubic feet to captives. The report of the distribution company in the Chattogram region, Karnaphuli, also says that more gas was supplied to captives. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, 572 million cubic meters of gas were supplied to captives and 522 million to power plants. However, Jalalabad and Bakhrabad supplied more gas to power plants. The daily average of the six companies is 26.5 million (power plants) and 14.5 million cubic meters (captives). That is, more than half of the gas was used in captives.

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission sources told Barta24.com that the generation capacity of captive power plants as of June 2024 has stood at 6,085 MW. Of this, 3,460 MW is gas-based. And 2,625 MW is diesel-based. BERC says the rate of establishment of captive power plants is on the rise. 47 licenses were issued in the 2020-21 fiscal year, 125 in the 21-22 fiscal year, 159 in the 22-23 fiscal year, and the latest 310 licenses were issued in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

The Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) report dated November 7, 2024, said that out of the 59 gas-based power plants in the country, only 9 received full gas supply on that day. 33 power plants were completely shut down, and the rest were either under regular maintenance or partially producing due to gas shortage.

Petrobangla's report says that on November 7, 891 million cubic feet of gas was supplied to power generation. On that day, the demand for gas was 2,490 million cubic feet. There is a fear that this gas crisis will become more serious. Gas is available from domestic fields at a price of 1 taka per cubic meter. It costs about 71 taka to import the same amount of gas. When the price is high and there is no infrastructure, there is no opportunity to increase imports within 2 years.

To deal with this gas crisis, if the captive (3460 MW) gas is supplied to the power plant, there is an opportunity to get about 1600 MW more electricity.

On the captive issue, the industrial owners say that they are not getting uninterrupted power, so they have to invest extra and install captives. This is harming them. Even if there is load shedding for a few seconds, a huge amount of raw materials are wasted. If there is uninterrupted power, no one will go to captives. The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) says that the businessmen are telling only part of the truth. In 2012, the Q class was introduced with a guarantee of uninterrupted power. They were supposed to be provided with uninterrupted power through a special line. But due to the high price, not a single entrepreneur applied.

A letter from PDB submitted to BERC said that the distribution company is neglecting the efficient combined cycle power plants while supplying gas to captive power. On the other hand, the companies get a higher price by providing gas to captives, so they are more interested in providing it to captives instead of government power plants.

When more than half of the power plants are shut down due to lack of gas, the approval of captive power plants remains a surprise. There is an obligation to obtain prior permission from the Power Division to provide captive gas connections of more than 10 MW. To avoid that obligation, NR Group located in Jamirdia, Bhaluka Upazila, was given 24.92 MW captive with three different consumer codes during the previous government. In this way, many people got connections outside the rules.

The role of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company (TGTDCL) and Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) in the case of captive connections is more critical. Despite strict restrictions, the two companies have provided gas connections to hundreds of captives. Sometimes with the approval of the board, sometimes without the approval of the board. For a long time, the senior secretaries of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division were the board chairmen of the two companies. That is why others did not dare to speak out.

In addition to the wastage of gas in captives, the BPDB is facing a growing deficit due to the idle power plants. Whether the power plants are running or not, the capacity charge is about Tk. 1800 crore per month. As the production capacity increases, the amount of capacity charge will increase accordingly. Those concerned believe that this may lead to a crisis in the power sector.

BPDB plans to increase its gas supply by 40 percent by 2030. The government has set a target of generating 60,000 megawatts of electricity in 2040. Now that 100% electrification has been achieved, the only way to increase electricity consumption is industry. Industrialization is happening, but in reality there is no change in electricity demand. There has been concern for a long time that electricity consumption in industry is not as expected. The main reason for this is the mass installation of captives. If this is not stopped, many are afraid of all kinds of dangers. Shafiqul Alam, lead analyst at the Institute for Energy Economic Financial Analysis, told Barta24.com that combined cycle power plants are more energy efficient than captives. It is possible to generate additional electricity with the same amount of gas. Not only captives, gas are being used in boilers in many cases. Electric boilers are much more energy efficient. A plan should be taken to gradually exit captives.

Ahead of the month of Ramadan, the LC margin and credit limit will be temporarily lifted on the import of 4/5 products, including daily necessities, especially chickpeas, sugar, wheat, and edible oil, said Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur.

He said these things after a meeting held on inflation and commodity prices at the Finance Ministry conference room at the Secretariat on Thursday (November 7) afternoon.

The central bank governor said, there has been a lot of discussion on the supply chain. We have discussed the price of every daily commodity. In this, the government has decided that the duty on most daily commodities has been reduced to zero. We have made some other decisions. We had already lifted the LC margin. Now we will issue a circular next Sunday that no margin should be given on daily commodities. We had lifted it and left it to the banks. However, we will encourage banks not to charge LC margin on daily necessities until the next Ramadan. This is a significant decision that we will make.

We have to be patient for the country's economy to stabilize. It will take 12 to 18 months to stabilize, said Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur.

He said that inflation rose to 10 percent in October. This could be due to various reasons including floods. However, rice prices are at a tolerable level. He also said that if the prices of energy products in the international market decrease, it will have an impact on the country. The liquidity crisis of the bank has already started to ease. Moreover, dollars are available in the bank. He also said that if no one gives dollars at this time, he will inform them.

Stating that the market is being monitored constantly, he said that no one can do anything irrationally. I have seen supply increase naturally and not by threatening people during the 1/11. He also commented that during this time, people will have to leave space on the sidewalks for walking.