Titas officials are deliberately dillydallying the project implementation as introduction of pre-paid gas billing service would stop the illegal profit they are making through postpaid services, As a result Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited is collecting around Tk 3,000-4,000 crore extra money annually from users of postpaid meter, alleged experts and concern people.
They said that an average cost per month of a prepaid gas meter user is around Tk 400-500, whereas a user of non-prepaid meter is paying Tk 975. Expressing disappointment over the slow progress, energy expert Shamsul Alam told Bangladesh Post, “The household users are incurring losses due to traditional gas-billing system, which can be easily resolved through introduction of prepaid system. But Titas is deliberately delaying the implementation of prepaid gas meter project as its officials have a lot of interests in it.
He said there are big thefts here. A strong syndicate is involved in this invisible theft. For this reason, Titas does not want all customers to come under the prepaid meter quickly. “At present, at a household level, 20 to 25 units of gas is being used which, in papers, Titas is showing 80-85 units, only to make an extra income of at least Tk 4,000 crore annually from the customers,” he added.
It is mention worthy that the prepaid gas meter project, launched in January 2015 and scheduled to end by December 2018, aimed to install 200,000 prepaid gas meters in an around Dhaka city.However, by December 31 of 2018, only 74,284 prepaid meters were installed under the project, covering a little over one-third of the goal.Meanwhile, given the current status of the project, a steering committee of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources extended the deadline for implementation of project to 2020.
Project Director Md Faizar Rahman told Bangladesh Post up to July last, around 1,51,500 meters have been installed. Of these 85,000 meters are now being operated. It is expected that the rest of meters will be in operation by February, 2020.Informing that the company targets to install two lakh prepaid meters by next year, the PD said Titas is planning to install 1, 20,000 additional prepaid meters, making the total number of prepaid meters 3,20,000 to be installed. Currently we are in discussion with JICA about the mater. If it is done then the project dead line will be extended further.
Asked what caused the project dawdle so badly, Faizar claimed the delay in starting the project work was to blame for the slow pace of implementation of project.Mahnur Islam Liza, a resident of Mohammadpur in the capital, told Bangladesh Post, “The gas bill has reduced more due to use of prepaid meter. Earlier I could use gas for 3 months by recharging taka 1,000. However, now I can use 2.5 months of gas after the gas price hike.”
Mentionable, on June 9, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said that all the gas meters will be converted into pre-paid meters.“We are taking a project to remove old gas pipelines from all areas along with the Dhaka city and set up new lines and install prepaid meters,” he told journalists at a briefing at his ministry conference.
Highlighting the benefits of pre-paid meters, however, Titas officials said the main features of prepaid system are easy payment of gas bill, easy access to information, improved customer service, uninterrupted security, protection in use of gas, and conservation of natural gas for future generations.