The provision of increasing the price of oil, gas and electricity is cancelled

The ordinance has been issued canceling the provision of increasing the price of fuel oil, gas and electricity in the executive order. On Tuesday (August 27), the President promulgated the 'Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2024'.

Before this, the draft ordinance was approved in the meeting of the advisory council of the interim government on August 22.

By amending the 'Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act, 2003', section 34(a) of increasing fuel oil, gas and electricity prices has been repealed in the executive order.

On December 1, 2022, the President issued the 'Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2022', empowering the government, not the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), to determine, re-fix and adjust the prices of fuel oil, electricity and gas at the consumer level.

The Ordinance added section 34(a) under the heading Power of Government to fix, refix or adjust tariffs. That section states, 'Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, the Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, for the purpose of co-ordinating subsidy, in the public interest, ensure uninterrupted supply of energy as per demand for agriculture, industry, fertiliser, trade and domestic work. To facilitate the adoption of expeditious measures for increasing production, transmission, transportation and marketing of electricity generation, energy transmission, storage, marketing, supply, distribution and consumer level tariffs can be fixed, re-fixed or adjusted.

The Ordinance becomes law when the Parliament sits later. The prices of gas, electricity and oil were being increased by the ministry. There was outrage among customers over this.