Titas wants 47% hike in non-metred domestic gas bills

More than 25 lakh non-metred household users are likely to face a significant rise in their monthly bills as state-run Titas Gas thinks that the consumers burn more gas than estimated by the regulator. 

Claiming that the non-metred domestic users are burning 39% to 47% additional gas than the volume fixed for each of them, Titas has already submitted a proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (Berc) to increase their monthly bills.

Currently, the country's largest gas distributor, officially known as Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited, charges Tk990 monthly for a single burner and Tk1,080 for a double burner. 

Each single burner and double burner user pays for 55 units (cubic metre) and 60 units of gas, respectively, at a rate of Tk18 per unit.

If the proposal is accepted, the monthly bill for a single burner and a double burner will jump to Tk1,379 and Tk1,591, respectively.

The latest development comes after a record hike in gas tariffs for four categories of consumers. In January, the government increased gas prices for power, captive users, industries, and commercial users by up to a staggering 179%, with the aim of phasing out subsidies and cutting the fiscal deficit.

At that time, some categories of gas users, such as domestic, CNG, fertiliser, and tea estates, were excluded from the hike.

According to a source at Petrobangla, Titas Gas is now aiming to increase the price of domestic gas by claiming overuse in an attempt to boost its revenue.

Berc Chairman Md Nurul Amin said that they have received a proposal from Titas Gas, requesting a re-fixing of the volume of gas allowed for non-metred household consumers.

"We will place the proposal in our commission meeting and will examine the rationality of the claim," he told The Business Standard.

At present, Titas Gas has a total 28.57 lakh household consumers in its distribution network in Dhaka and Mymensingh divisions.

Of them, 25.25 lakh are non-metred while 3.32 lakh have been taken under pre-paid metre coverage.

The energy regulatory commission sets the bills for non-metred users based on a monthly average use of 55 units for a single burner and 60 units for a double burner. Pre-paid customers pay bills based on their usage, at a rate of Tk18 per cubic metre.

According to pre-paid metre users, a family of five can easily go for one and a half months with a Tk1,080 recharge.

Titas Gas has claimed in its proposal that non-metred domestic consumers use gas not only for household cooking but also for water boiling.

Workers in industrial areas and sublet tenants often use more gas than an average household due to interim cooking for several families.

Therefore, Titas Gas has proposed to the regulatory commission that the volume of gas used by non-metred domestic users should be re-fixed from 55 cubic metres to 76.65 cubic metres for single burners and from 60 cubic metres to 88.44 cubic metres for double burners.

Titas in its proposal mentions that due to the lowering of gas volume in the 2022 tariff order, the company's system loss has increased and it is now incurring financial damages despite being a profit-making organisation.

Professor M Shamsul Alam, energy advisor to the Consumers' Association of Bangladesh (CAB), however, said that the regulatory commission has determined an average gas volume for the non-metred users whereas some users do not use the fixed volume in reality.

"Titas Gas' measurement of gas volume for non-metred users is not acceptable because the company has lost its credibility to consumers over its corruption which is known to the regulator and the Anti-Corruption Commission," he added.

The energy expert also said that the current gas volume that consumers pay for is higher than their actual usage, as the regulatory commission's technical committee found that monthly consumption for a single burner user is around 45 units, and 50 units for a double burner user.

"It appears that the current gas volume that non-metred users are paying for is already higher than their actual usage. Therefore, there may not be a valid reason to increase the volume against this consumer group," he added.