CNG refueling station owners have warned they will go on an indefinite strike across the country if their seven-point demands are not met by May 24.
President of Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association Zakir Hossain Noyon issued the warning at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium yesterday.
“We are determined to enforce countrywide nonstop strike if the government does not satisfy our seven-point demands by the May 24 deadline,” said Noyon.
CNG refueling station owners demanded CNG prices be raised when power price is raised, saying prices of both the energy sources were interlinked.
For the owners, the margin at present is a mere Tk0.12 for per cubic metre CNG after adjustment of all costs and they demanded the margin be raised to Tk2.98. They called for providing gas connections for the 54 new stations.
The association demanded installation of Electronic Volume Correction (EVC) metres at the refuelling stations by replacing the existing ordinary metres so that the bill could be generated accurately according to the pressure readings of gas. The owners also asked for introducing fortnightly billing system in place of the existing monthly billing.
According to the Energy Division, CNG refueling station owners have been expecting gas connections since 2009. At present, they sell CNG at Tk30 per unit and pay gas companies Tk23 for each unit of gas, keeping a margin of Tk7.
On September 19, 2011, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission set the price of CNG at Tk30 per cubic metre, increasing the price by Tk5 from the previous price.
Petrobangla currently supplies about 120 million cubic feet or 3.40 million cubic metres of gas every day, against the demand of 130 mmcfd, to 585 refueling stations across the country. The association’s Vice-president Mohammad Irad Ali, Joint Secretary Abdus Sattar, Finance Secretary AKM Alamgir Khan, executive member Abdus Shakur Chowdhury were present at the presser.