1.2 lakh prepaid gas meter installation hits a snag

The move to install an additional 1.2 lakh prepaid gas meters in new areas across the capital is now facing a setback due to frequent lockdown enforced to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited started installing prepaid gas metres in some areas of Dhaka in September 2017 under a JICA-funded project.

As per official data from Titas Gas, the company has about 2.783 million consumers in its command area, of which 2.764 million are household consumers.

Under the existing project, so far 200,000 prepaid gas meters have been installed in 26 areas in the city while installation of the new 1.2 lakh metres is scheduled to start by the end of this year.

Official sources said the areas, where the new prepaid metres are going to be installed for household consumers, include Paltan, Ramna, New Market, Khilgaon and Segunbagicha, which are mainly located in the central part of the city under the Dhaka South City Corporation.

“Under this project, we have already installed 200,000 prepaid gas meters in the first phase. Installation of another additional 1.2 lakh meters in the metropolitan areas are still underway,’’ said project director Faizur Rahman.

“The installation of these prepaid metres is being delayed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as well as successive lockdowns. However, we have completed the installation of some 41,552 prepaid meters by June, this year while we have already received 63,360 more prepaid meters from Japan as of now,” he added.

Titas Gas authority took up the prepaid gas metering project at a cost of Tk 712 crore mainly to check gas pilferage as there is a widespread allegation that there is a huge number of illegal gas connections across the city.

Titas Gas started installing prepaid gas metres in some areas of Dhaka in September 2017 under a JICA-funded project. The project was supposed to be completed by December 2018 but the installation was completed in 2020.

But the ministry has extended the second phase of the project till December 2022 and the project cost has now increased to Tk 754 crore, with Tk 651 crore coming from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

A household without a prepaid gas metre now needs to pay Tk 975 to use a double-burner stove. Therefore, using prepaid metres can save Tk 370, or 38 per cent once the prepaid metres are installed, according to the project proposal.