NN Online:
With 7 per cent system loss, the new management of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company PLC has been facing the biggest challenge in its service delivery.
“Some 7 per cent system loss means the organisation loses Tk 150-180 crore per month in revenue,” said Shahnewaz Parvez, the new managing director of the Titas Gas PLC.
“It means, the state-owned gas distribution entity can save Tk 1,800-2,160 crore a year if such a huge system loss is checked,” he told UNB.
Among the six gas distribution companies, Titas Gas has been the oldest and largest one both in terms of its operational area and volume of natural gas sales.
As per the official statistics, the Titas Gas, invented in 1964, alone holds 55 per cent of the gas market share while the other five companies have 45 per cent.
Titas Gas supplies gas to over 2.878 million consumers, including some 2.853 million household consumers, 12,078 commercial consumers, 5,429 industrial consumers, 1,755 captive power plants, and 396 CNG stations.
Its vast operational area covers Dhaka, Manikganj, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi and Mymensingh.
It annually sells about 14,459.41 MMCM (million cubic meters) of gas (2021-23 fiscal year), to earn a revenue of TK 26,387.12 crore.
After the fall of the Awami League regime, the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry also brought changes in Titas management as it was one of the “most corrupt” organisations where the previous managing director Harunor Rashid Mollah was appointed on a contractual basis.
There have been widespread allegations that Mollah was involved in various corruption schemes who gave a huge financial benefit to former state minister Nasrul Hamid to get his contractual appointment.
One of the major allegations against the old management was that Mollah did not take adequate actions against the illegal connections which ultimately increased the system loss of Titas Gas from 2 per cent in 2021-22 to 7 per cent in 2024-25 fiscal years.
Upon assuming office as Managing Director, Shahnewaz Parvez, who previously served as the managing director of GTCL, another Petrobangla company, took action against illegal gas connections. Within one month, he said, Titas Gas had disconnected over 4,000 household connections and more than 90 industrial connections, primarily in Keraniganj, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Rupganj.
Official sources said Keraniganj was the parliamentary constituency of former state minister for power and energy Nasrul Hamid where the most illegal connections were found.
Titas Gas officials said the mainly politically influential persons, especially the local MPs of the ruling party, were the main promoters of the illegal gas connections.
As a result, on many occasions, the Titas Gas officials came under attacks from the ruling party men when they conducted operations against the illegal gas connections at different areas.
Shahnewaz said Titas Gas has to lose revenue of over Tk 5 crore a day due to illegal gas connections.
“So, it’s now our top priority to disconnect all illegal connections and remove the illegal gas pipelines,” he said, adding, if illegal connections are snapped it will play a good role to improve gas supply to many areas.