Illegal gas use costs Tk6,000cr a year

Bangladesh is losing more than Tk6,000 crore worth of gas annually because of theft, illegal connections, pipeline leakages and administrative failures, even as households struggle with acute gas shortages and industries face mounting production disruptions.

An analysis of government accounts and minutes of high-level meetings at Petrobangla shows that gas worth around Tk6,382 crore is lost each year through excessive system loss and mismanagement.

Officials say that, after deducting the 2 per cent technical loss permitted by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), the remaining losses largely stem from theft, illegal use, leakages and weak oversight.

The findings emerged during a recent policy-level meeting chaired by Energy and Mineral Resources Division Secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam, where officials acknowledged that the government’s special 180-day action plan to curb system loss has made little progress.

The losses come at a time when consumers across the country, particularly in Dhaka, continue to experience severe gas shortages.

Many households report inadequate gas pressure for cooking, while power generation and industrial production have also been affected.

New industrial gas connections remain suspended, slowing investment and employment.

According to the Energy Division, Bangladesh currently supplies around 270 crore cubic feet of gas a day, with an average sale price of Tk690.44 per thousand cubic feet (MCF).

Overall system loss stands at 9.38 per cent, meaning roughly 25.33 crore cubic feet of gas goes unaccounted for each day, equivalent to about Tk17.49 crore.

Since BERC allows distributors to account for only 2 per cent technical loss, the remaining 7.38 per cent translates into an estimated Tk6,000 crore-plus in annual financial losses.

Officials admitted during the meeting that reducing system loss to the government’s target of 6 per cent is unlikely under current conditions.

Among the state-owned distributors, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company recorded the worst performance. Its system loss rose to 9.47 per cent in the last fiscal year from 7.67 per cent a year earlier.

Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company also failed to meet its targets, while only Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) achieved its performance goal.

The Joint Secretary of the Energy Division’s Operations Branch told the meeting that the current target was “not possible” to achieve given prevailing conditions.

Titas Managing Director Engineer Shahnewaz Parvez told the meeting that system loss remains relatively low among large industrial consumers but continues to rise because of illegal residential connections, pipeline leakages and unauthorised gas use.

Investigations have found thousands of illegal gas connections operating across Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Savar and Munshiganj. Although many are disconnected during enforcement drives, they are often restored shortly afterwards.

Officials acknowledged long-standing allegations of collusion involving some dishonest employees, although no names were disclosed.

A survey conducted between January 2023 and February 2025 identified 9,384 major leaks along Titas’s 4,070-kilometre pipeline network.

By comparison, only 118 leaks were detected in Jalalabad Gas, 11 in Karnaphuli Gas, three in Bakhrabad and two on GTCL transmission lines.

Petrobangla’s Director of Operations told the meeting that illegal gas consumption is particularly widespread in washing and lime factories, adding that temporary raids alone cannot solve the problem.

He recommended network isolation, stricter monitoring, mobile courts led by executive magistrates and greater public awareness.

The meeting also decided that zone-based officials who fail to reduce system loss could face disciplinary action, including suspension of promotions and salary increments.

However, energy experts argue that enforcement alone will not resolve the crisis. They recommend replacing ageing pipelines, introducing modern metering systems, regularising existing illegal users where feasible and ensuring strict accountability for officials found complicit in illegal connections.

With LNG imports becoming increasingly expensive and government subsidies for imported gas rising sharply—from Tk8,900 crore in FY2024-25 to about Tk16,700 crore this year—officials warn that unless structural reforms are implemented, continued gas theft will place an even greater burden on public finances and energy security.