Plea to open up pre-paid gas metering sources

BERC Chairman AR Khan has stressed the need for opening up pre-paid gas metering sources to help bring all clients under the coverage at affordable costs in the earliest possible time.
"I think the sourcing of the pre-paid gas metering should be opened up immediately," the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission chairman said during a public hearing on gas tariff hikes Wednesday.
There should be a set-standard in the quality of the pre-paid meters like those in the electricity sector, Mr Khan added.
Currently, state-run gas marketing and distribution companies have monopoly to select the pre-paid gas meters.
But in the power sector, the state-run distribution companies have set a standardisation of the meters and the consumer purchase those from the open market and get those connected by the distribution company employees.
The BERC chairman was also of the opinion that the pre-paid gas meters with electronic volume corrector (EVC) should be provided to each of the new gas consumers to reduce hassles.
He also stressed the need for checking irregularities and corruption in the gas sector.
State-run Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Ltd (BGDCL) and Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd (KGDCL) faced public hearing Wednesday against their proposals to raise natural gas tariff for all types of consumers by up to 122.22 per cent.
The technical evaluation committee of the BERC recommended for a hike in natural gas tariff by 2.49 per cent for the BGDCL but turned down the tariff hike proposal of the KGDCL.
During the public hearing the KGDCL officials admitted that they were failing to provide natural gas at required pressure and heating value to the consumers.
"We are, however, purchasing natural gas with necessary pressure and required temperature from the national gas grid owned by state-run Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL)," they said.
Energy Adviser of the Consumers' Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Dr M Shamsul Alam sought transparency in gas sale agreements with multinational companies like Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company Ltd (Kafco), Lafarge Surma Cement.
The BERC should fix natural gas tariff for the multinational companies operating in the country like that of local companies, he said.
Mr Alam was also critical about fixing the asset value at Tk 25 per Mcf (1,000 cubic feet).
He sought a commercial value of natural gas.
Local industries are now at 'crossfire' due to irrational gas tariff structure, the CAB adviser alleged.
Professor Nurul Islam of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) termed gas sales to multinational companies as 'de-facto export' of natural gas and demanded fixing of natural gas tariff for them in line with widely accepted international pricing formula.
Public hearings of state-run Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution Systems Ltd and Sundarban Gas Company Ltd will be held today (Thursday).
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