Smoke- screen has been created over the issue of new domestic gas connection. A few days back, Anisur Rahman, senior secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources division said, ‘the Prime Minister's verbal permission has been obtained for a new gas connection.’
On the other hand, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told a national daily that ‘no decision has been taken to give new domestic gas connection.’
However, a national daily quoting the senior secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources division wrote that the file has been submitted to the Prime Minister's Office. Once it gets final approval, gas connections will be provided to residences through distribution companies. He also explained how to give connections. He said, ‘there will definitely be pre-paid meters step by step. We have seen that the cost of pre-paid meter is lower for the consumer. Again, the waste of valuable natural resources is less.
Such contradictory statements by two top officials of the ministry in the space of a few days have sparked a lot of discussion in the media in the gas sector and energy sector. A few days after the senior secretary of the energy division told the media that various rumors are circulating about, why this happened.
Many people think that this may be due to the LPG syndicate. LPG traders do not want a new gas connection. This could affect their cylinder business. Big fishes have invested in this sector.
Speaking about the gas crisis, the government shut down new domestic connections in 2010. In May 2013, a few days before the tenth parliamentary elections, new connections were introduced in the residential sector. At that time, some residential connections were also given in Rajshahi ahead of the city elections. However, after the vote, it was closed. Residents were instructed to turn on the gas connection in April 2018, ahead of the 11th parliamentary elections. Some people took advantage of that opportunity but most people are deprived of new connection.
As the new gas connection has been kept suspended for more than nine years (6 and a half years in a row), the festival of taking illegal gas connection is going on in the surrounding districts including the capital. Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited failed to control these illegal connections. The gas distribution company carried out raids and cut the lines from time to time, but within a few days, the illegal connection was restored.
For the past decade, a section of the officials of Energy division has been saying that no country in the world has a residential gas connection through pipeline as a reason for shutting down new gas connections to the pipeline. In Bangladesh, natural gas is being wasted by gas in the pipeline for home cooking. However, a 2018 report by a committee set up by the Prime Minister's Office said that in India, Singapore and Japan, gas is being supplied to household cooking pipelines and its coverage is being expanded. In Japan and Singapore, civic services include gas pipelines as well as cooking with LPG and electricity is in operation.
According to multiple analysts in the energy sector, in order to create an exclusive market for LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) in the country, the pipeline gas has been shut down due to the inaction of a part of the beneficiaries of the energy division. They also think that just introducing LPG to the residents is tantamount to holding the people hostage. The government is not able to control the market price of LPG. The government's directive to write the maximum retail price on the bottle is also not being implemented. Weight loss will be followed by fatigue and constant tiredness. Customers are being cheated at the marginal level. Beneficiaries are producers and middlemen.
Analysts believe that home cooking should have access to pipeline gas, LPG and electricity so that the customer can choose his preferred fuel in terms of price and convenience. Mentioning the importance of providing pre-paid meters in the pipeline, energy experts say that if there is a pre-paid meter, a customer will pay as much gas as he uses. This will protect the interests of all. Gas is sold to public and private power plants at a rate of Taka 4.45 per cubic meter. In the public interest, the same amount of gas (per cubic meter) is sold to the customers of the residential sector at the rate of Taka 12. 60.
Energy expert Professor Shamsul Alam told Barta24.com, ‘BERC has shown that even if LNG is brought and delivered to homes, the price is much lower than LPG. LPG owners may be behind the failure to provide gas connection to their homes. LPG owners have not been given gas connection for profit so far, people have been tortured. There should be a demand for justice for this.'
He added that LPG cannot be called a completely clean fuel. Its use in densely populated areas cannot be encouraged. Where there is no pipeline, or economically feasible there may be LPG. However, its profit should be determined.
The average gas production in the country was 1750 million cubic feet (MMCF) when gas connections were cut off in the residential sector. At present the average daily production of gas in the country is about 2500 MMCF. However, there is a deficit compared to the demand. As an alternative to gas, imported LNG (liquefied natural gas) is coming at 500 MMCF per day. Of the total gas produced and imported daily, 1,200 MMCF is used in power generation, about 500 MMCF in residential sector, 130 MMCF in fertilizer factories, industrial factories, commercial sector, tea gardens and other sectors.
Six state-owned companies have been distributing gas in Titas, Karnafuli, West Zone, Jalalabad, Bakhrabad and Sundarbans. There are 38 lakh legal residential customers across the country. The largest distribution company Titas has 26 lakh 46 thousand residential customers. Of these, about 1.5 lakh are pre-paid customers. Titus distributes gas in several districts including the capital.
However, the idea is that there is a huge amount of illegal connections. Some of the people of the distribution company concerned are earning illegal money every month these connections are not valid.
Three state-owned companies are producing an average of 900 MMCF of gas per day through 70 wells from 18 gas fields. Multinational company Chevron alone is extracting an average of 1,540 MMCF daily from 38 wells through three gas fields, while Tallo is extracting an average of 100 MMCF gas from one gas field through five wells.