If all domestic gas users get prepaid meters, 53 BCF (billion cubic feet) of gas worth Tk 1,900 crore will be saved every year.

However, gas prepaid meter installation work of six state-owned gas distribution companies is going on at a very slow pace.

The government decided to install pre-paid meters to stop theft, waste and illegal use, along with establishing discipline and good governance in the gas sector.

According to experts, if the gas distribution companies can ensure prepaid meters for all domestic gas users, around 40 percent less gas would be burned, as consumers would be frugal. Since it was not implemented, the country loses huge quantity of gas, mainly through the burning of more gas unnecessarily. Secondly, gas is being stolen through illegal connections.

There are allegations that if the theft can be stopped, the illegal income of the dishonest employees of the gas distribution companies will be reduced. Due to this, they are reluctant to install the prepaid meters.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed dissatisfaction at the slow pace of installation of prepaid gas meters. A meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on December 3 recommended expediting the process.

Shahiduzzaman Sarkar, chairman of the committee, said that even five lakh customers had not come under prepaid meters. So, how long will it take to supply meters to more than 40 lakh users?

According to Petrobangla sources, the total number of residential consumers under the six gas distribution companies is currently around 43 lakh. Among them, only three lakh consumers have got prepaid meter connection.

In 2015, Titas Gas Distribution and Transmission Company Limited had planned to install two lakh gas pre-paid meters in Dhaka with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Bangladesh government to bring order and equality in domestic gas supply. However, it took five years to implement the project worth Tk 499 crore.

According to Titas, they have taken up a new project to install 120,000 meters, which will be finished by 2022. That means after 2022, 34 lakh 80 thousand customers will still remain out of this facility.

According to Titas calculations, there are about 245 km of illegal gas pipeline in Dhaka and four surrounding districts. Apart from this, there are also illegal connections of other distribution companies.

Analysts say there are still more than 500,000 illegal connections across the country. But distribution companies have no systems loss. The largest gas distribution company Titas Gas, once made a systems gain (that is, it sold more gas than it bought). According to analysts, the companies have taken a tactical position to adjust the amount of gas that is being stolen every day.

Energy expert professor M Tamim said the theft in the gas sector cannot be stopped in any way unless pre-paid meters are installed. It has been shown in a research that pre-paid meter consumers burn 40 percent less gas.

The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on July 19 sent a letter to the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation or Petrobangla seeking information on the progress of installing prepaid meters. It said that in October 2018, it had instructed the gas distribution companies to install pre-paid meters in phases. The measures taken so far are not at the desired level.

A member of BERC said that if the consumer gets an opportunity to buy the prepaid meter from the market, it will be installed in most of the houses within a year.

M Shamsul Alam, energy adviser to the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB), said gas distribution companies are implementing prepaid meter installation projects at a snail’s pace. Because, if the meter is installed, the theft will stop. So they do not want to lose this opportunity to steal.

According to Petrobangla, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL), the largest gas distribution company, has 28 lakh 46 thousand 419 residential consumers. The total domestic consumers of Bakhrabad Gas Systems Limited (BGSL) is 4 lakh 88 thousand 713. Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution System Limited (JGTDSL) has 2 lakh 21 thousand 906 residential customers.

There are 1 lakh 28 thousand 387 domestic customers of Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited (PGCL), Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) has 5 lakh 97 thousand 985 domestic consumers and Sundarban Gas Distribution Company Limited (SGDCL) has 2286 domestic gas users.