CNG stations to remain closed on July 30 over commission hike demand

The Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association has announced a one-day nationwide shutdown of all CNG filling stations on July 30, demanding an increase in sales commission and a four-point charter of demands.

At a press conference held at Akram Tower in Dhaka's Bijoynagar on Tuesday, the organisation said operations at all CNG filling stations across the country would remain suspended from 6am to 12am that day. If the demands are not met, they will enforce an indefinite shutdown from August 23.

Steering Committee Convenor Amiruzzaman Chowdhury, in a written statement, said station owners currently receive Tk 8 per cubic metre as commission on CNG sales. They have demanded an increase of Tk 5.96, which would bring the commission to Tk 13.96 per cubic metre.

The organisation claimed that while the commission rate has remained unchanged since September 1, 2015, inflation, electricity prices, workers' wages, bank interest rates, the dollar exchange rate and other operational costs have increased significantly during this period. However, due to the government-fixed selling price, these additional costs cannot be passed on to consumers.

Alongside the commission hike, they have put forward three other demands: automatic adjustment of commission if gas prices increase, stopping the collection of additional deposits from old customers due to gas price hikes, and rationalising licence, renewal and connection fees charged by various government departments.

According to the organisation's calculations, following seven rounds of electricity price hikes since 2015, the commission needs to be increased by Tk 2.46 per cubic metre just to cover power costs. Additionally, considering inflation and other operational expenses, a further Tk 3.50 increase is justified. Combined, these justify the Tk 5.96 increase.

The leaders said a technical committee of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and Petrobangla had previously recommended a Tk 2.98 increase in commission. However, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) only approved a Tk 1 increase at the time, leaving the rest unimplemented.

The organisation claimed that the long absence of commission adjustments has put approximately Tk 5,000 crore in investments in the CNG sector at risk. They also alleged that despite multiple attempts to contact the relevant ministry and BERC, they have received no effective response.