Gas price to rise further amid acute supply crisis

Staff Reporter :
Inhabitants of the capital are facing a daily struggle as they rise early, anxiously wondering whether their gas burners will light up to cook their meals in the midst of the ongoing severe cold weather.

This has become a prevalent issue, with city dwellers experiencing low gas pressure or even burners nearly extinguishing until midday.

Adding to the challenges, the government is contemplating another increase in gas prices, exacerbating the economic strain on citizens already grappling with financial difficulties.

The move comes at a time when the city is struggling with an acute crisis in gas supply, leaving households in uncertainty about their daily cooking needs.

In an attempt to address the ongoing crisis, the government is now assuring the public that they will get uninterrupted gas supply by 2026.

However, this pledge offers little solace to the citizens who are currently enduring the inconvenience of insufficient gas pressure in their burners because they want a swift solution to the current gas supply challenges.

Talking to the city dwellers in Mirpur, Kuril, Bashundhara, Badda, Mahakhali and Dhanmondi, they said that they can hardly cook their meals at daytime. Many of them are now cooking at night when they get some pressure of gas.

Some of them said they are using the electric stoves or purchasing extra gas cylinders with additional expenditure over Tk 1500 to meet their needs.

“Our burners remain out of gas since morning. Cooking meal has now become a major challenge.

Now I use electric stoves,” Selina Banu, a homemaker in Mirpur, told the New Nation on Tuesday.

Ayesha Begum living in Azimpur said, “We don’t get any gas supply from morning to 4pm. Now I cook late at night after office. Life has really difficult for us.”

Due to the irregular gas supply, the living expenses of Arafat Rahman, an employee of a private institution in the Shyamoli area, have increased.

“Due to the lack of gas, proper cooking cannot be done at home.

I often have to buy food from outside hotels. This not only adds to the household expenses but also multiplies the cost of hotel meals.

With the current situation of inflation, managing expenses in this way has become quite challenging for our family,” he said.

According to Petrobangla reports, the monthly demand for gas across the country is approximately 3.8 billion cubic feet.

Contrarily, the current supply stands at 2.5 billion cubic feet nationwide, marking the lowest level since April 2020.

Sources said that LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is imported through two regasification terminals, and then it is further transformed into gas and supplied through pipelines.

One of these terminals has been closed for inspection since November 1.

The two terminals together had the capacity to supply 850 million cubic feet of gas. Due to the closure of one terminal, the current supply is reduced to approximately 500 million cubic feet.

Meanwhile, State Minister of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, at the Secretariat on Tuesday said, “We have observed a reduction in gas supply for the past few days.

This is likely due to lower gas pressure during the winter season. We hope that a solution to this issue will be possible soon.” “We have set a target for uninterrupted gas supply by 2026,” he further said.

Explaining the shortage of gas supply, he said, “Among many other challenges, gas is one of these.

We have problems with Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU). We hope this situation will improve by one of two days.”

“We have a big plan to make the gas supply uninterrupted from March.

The month of Ramadan is approaching. We have taken this plan considering Ramadan,” he said.

About the future plan, he said, “We have plan for setting two FSRU. These will be added by 2026 and 2027. Our estimate is that the gas demand will stand at 6000 MMCF by 2027.” Despite various promises from the government, sources said that steps are being taken to increase the gas price.

Currently the monthly bill for two burners is Tk 1080, but there is proposal to add Tk 512 with the current bill. If implemented, the monthly bill will be Tk1592.

The billing for one burner is now Tk 999 and there is proposal to add Tk 390 with the current bill.

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission has already formed a technical committee and it has already started working.

The Committee has already sent letters to six gas distribution agencies to send necessary data within seven working days.