Dhaka, Dec. 3 -- For nearly a year, a domestic coal pricing dispute between Bangladesh's Power Division and Energy Division has created friction between the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) and the Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL).

At the heart of the conflict lies the price of locally mined coal, which PDB says has cost the utility Tk 30 billion over the last three financial years, even as 181 BCMCL employees earned profits exceeding Tk 5.7 million each in the past four years.

Since January, PDB payments to BCMCL have been linked to global market prices, at times 77 percent cheaper than the company's charges.

"We refuse to accept their price. It generates profits for them but results in losses for us...