Cabinet approves amendment to allow govt decide energy price

The Cabinet gave final approval to the draft of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 empowering the government to set fuel tariff on its own under special circumstances, reports BSS.

The approval came at a Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Monday, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said while briefing journalists at Bangladesh Secretariat.

He said the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) can wait for up to 90 days to review and take a decision on fixing tariff rates, which is lengthy process.

The amendment is made to let the government set energy prices on an urgent basis in a situation like what prevails now without waiting for BERC's decision, he added.

The cabinet secretary said the possibility of importing fuel and energy under private arrangement was also discussed in the meeting.

The concerned authorities were also given directives to this end, he said.

He said memorandum of understanding between Bangladesh and Brunei Darussalam on sending Bangladeshi workers has been approved in the cabinet retrospectively.

The cabinet also approved draft agreement between Bangladesh and Luxemburg on bilateral aviation, he said.

Anwarul Islam said different discussions and videos on current situation of banking sector went viral on social media. Concerned authorities have been asked to verify the accuracy of those contents, he said.

Cabinet also gave final approval to Bangladesh Biman Act 2022, he mentioned.

Source: BSS