Govt 12.5kg LPG cylinder Tk 591, 12kg private ones Tk 975: BERC

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) fixed the retail prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) on Monday.

Now, the retail price of 12.5kg LPG cylinder provided by the state-owned Liquit Petroleum Gas Limited (LPGL) will cost Tk 591 while the 12kg variety of private companies will cost Tk 975.

The new prices will be effective from today, BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil said while announcing the price through a virtual press conference.

Currently, a 12kg LPG cylinder is being sold in the retail market at Tk 980 to Tk 1,050, depending on companies, Tk 100 up from December.

In December last year, a 12kg LPG cylinder of Bashundhara was sold at Tk 950, Beximco at Tk 920, Jamuna Tk 940, Total Tk 950 and Petromax Tk 930.

Earlier, in public hearing on January 14 this year, the technical evaluation committee of BERC suggested fixing the price of a 12kg LPG container of private companies at a maximum of Tk 954 and minimum of Tk 758.

It also recommended fixing price of state-owned companies' 12.5kg container at Tk 902 by giving a cross subsidy of Tk 300 on the current price of Tk 600.

The BERC has not fixed any LPG price after 2009, although it is supposed to fix the price every year comparing with the International market.

Since then, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has been fixing the price of LPG produced by state-owned companies while the private companies fix their own price.

However, the commission has been setting the electricity tariff and price of natural gas for both bulk and retail consumers since its establishment in 2003.

According to BERC Act, 2000, electricity tariffs and prices of downstream petroleum products should be fixed by the energy regulator through public hearings.