CNG station owners threaten shutdown from Aug 23

  
The Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association on Tuesday threatened to shut down all CNG filling stations across the country from August 23 unless the government meets its four-point demand, including an increase in the sales commission.

The announcement came at a press conference held at Akram Tower in Bijoynagar in the capital. As part of its protest programme, the association also announced a symbolic nationwide strike at all CNG filling stations on July 30 from 6:00am to midnight. It, however, said the door for negotiations with the government would remain open.

Reading out a written statement, the association's convener Amiruzzaman Chowdhury said they had demanded an increase in the commission from Tk 8 to Tk 13.96 per cubic metre but had received no response from the government.

Besides raising the commission, the association demanded an automatic mechanism to adjust commissions in line with future fuel price hikes, the abolition of additional security deposits imposed on existing customers after gas price increases, and a reduction in licence, renewal and land lease fees charged by government agencies, including the Roads and Highways Department.

Association leaders said the commission has remained unchanged since September 1, 2015, despite repeated increases in gas and electricity prices and a sharp rise in operating costs.

They said inflation, higher minimum wages, the depreciation of the taka against the US dollar, increased bank guarantee commissions, rising interest rates and other operational expenses have made it increasingly difficult for station owners to operate profitably.

The leaders also claimed that despite repeated attempts, they had been unable to meet the adviser for the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources or the chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to present what they described as their "logical" demands.

They further alleged that although a high-level technical committee formed by the ministry and Petrobangla had recommended increasing the commission by Tk 2.98 per cubic metre, BERC approved only a Tk 1 increase in 2015, leaving the rest of the recommendation unimplemented.

The association said the CNG sector, built on investments of around Tk 5,000 crore, is facing serious sustainability challenges and urged the government to resolve the issue promptly to avert disruption and public suffering.