Gas is a non-renewable energy. Bangladesh has been blessed with this gift of nature. But both the authorities and the people are not possibly aware of what could befall the nation once the gas reserve, so far discovered and being used, gets depleted. Countries lacking in such gas resource but relying on its costly imports know full well how precious gas is for energy security. Even in Bangladesh, the families, who are yet to be supplied with gas, find their tight budgets eaten up by high-priced liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) use.
In this context, what happens to the financial health of a family in terms of gas use is worth examining. An average family, according to a rough reckoning, generally uses two LPG bottles (12.5 kg each) a month for cooking, spending nearly Tk. 3,000-Tk 3,500. On the other hand, a consumer enjoys piped gas supply from utility companies paying Tk 450 only per month for unlimited use for domestic consumption. It is assumed that an average double-burner piped gas user consumes 88 cubic metre (3107.7 cubic feet) of natural gas for domestic cooking, which should cost about Tk. 4,000 (nearly 10 times the present price). The equivalent amount of gas, if supplied from imported LNG source, would, as the experts say, have cost Tk 3,750 (assuming that 1,000 cubic feet of gas costs $ 15).
Bangladesh has a finite reserve of approximately 10-12 trillion cubic feet of gas. At the present rate of pipe gas consumption (including domestic, industrial and commercial uses), the gas reserve will not last for more than 10 years unless significant new reserve is added. Despite increased exploration efforts, no major gas resource could be discovered since 1996 in the country. So the fear of rapid depletion of gas has raised the alarm for energy sector managers. There has been a demand and supply gap for approximately 500 million cubic feet of gas supply daily.
Given this situation, it is really unfortunate that the gas transmission and distribution authorities have so far miserably failed to introduce gas meters in households and industries to stop forthwith gross gas wastage and misuse. A pilot project launched earlier was quite successful. Some meters have already been installed in the project area but it is really incomprehensible why such meters are not still being made mandatory for all gas-consumers.
Amid such a gloom, the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL) has once again undertaken a plan to provide 0.2 million prepaid gass maters in the capital, as a FE report says. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has come forward to fund the project under the natural gas efficiency project. This will not only reduce gas misuse but also prevent bill manipulation through meter tampering.
The TGTDCL has to explain why it will take time until January, 2016 to do it as it has, by now, got experience from its earlier project launched in Lalmatia and Mohammadpur. And it is again the TGTDCL which has to assure people that it won't give any more excuse to put the latest plan in cold storage as it did with its earlier project.
According to the ministry of energy, the country is producing 1,900 to 2,000 million cubic feet of gas per day. Of this, 750mmcfd is consumed by the power sector, 230 to 250mmcfd gas by the fertiliser sector and the rest is being used by residential and commercial consumers. Residential users consume around 160 mmcfd. Titas has around 15,63,290 customers of which around 15,46,394 are domestic users.
Efficient technology also can go a long way towards reducing gas wastage and misuse. About 75 per cent of natural gas is, according to experts, being misused in the inefficient power plants across the country, causing loss of billions of taka and damaging valuable non- renewable natural resource. The dilapidated and old power plants have now become white elephants and gas-guzzlers. But due to lack of policy and fund constraint, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has failed to take any measure to replace these power plants for ages.
Findings say, the Haripur and Shajibazar plants consume 7,090 million cubic feet of natural gas to generate 480 GWh (Gigawatt hours). However, using the same quantity of gas in a state-of-the-art gas turbine and in an Aero-derivative gas turbine 683 GWh and 879 GWh , 42 per cent more and 83 per cent more electricity could respectively be generated, Dr Ijaz Hossain, a leading energy expert said.
Echoing this view, another expert said, Ashuganj-128 MW, Ghorashal-110 MW and Chittagong-60 MW power plants are more than 25 years old. These three plants consume 15,604 million cubic feet of gas (mmcf) to generate 1,203 GWh of electricity but using the same amount of gas for new state-of- the-art CCGTs, more than 2,000 GWh of electricity could be generated. The efficiency of new CCGT plants is significantly higher than that of older steam thermal units.
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Plugging holes to stop gas wastage
Rahman Jahangir | Published: October 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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