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Published : 18 Mar 2025, 03:34 AM
As the gas supply crisis worsens and legal connections remain tangled in bureaucratic red tape, a thriving syndicate continues to operate unchecked, providing illicit gas lines at exorbitant rates.
While authorities claim to be cracking down on illegal connections, evidence suggests that some groups are actively facilitating these unauthorised lines.
Experts argue that officials exaggerate system loss statistics to shield these gas theft networks, raising concerns about accountability and safety.
According to a 1996 law, the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) is allowing gas distribution company Titas to calculate a 2 percent system loss.
But the input-output deficit has increased several folds, meaning system loss due to theft is swelling every year instead of dropping.
A report of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution in December showed a 10.6 percent system loss that month.
Titas was drawing nearly 1.33 billion cubic feet of gas daily at that time, and selling almost 1.18 billion cubic feet every day.
So Titas lost money for 140 million cubic feet of gas every day for a month then.
Shahnewaz Parvez, the managing director of Titas Gas, said the Bhairab unit sold 2.36 million cubic feet daily last December, though 3.98 million cubic feet of gas was consumed there daily.
The system loss stood at a staggering 40 percent there.
Shahnewaz, however, also focused on other reasons for system loss: “The area has more consumers and they leave their stoves lit. Some stoves burned up to 120 cubic feet of gas.”
Titas data says Bhaluka in Mymensingh sustained minimum system losses in December, registering a 3.6 percent deficit, while Dhaka Metropolitan took a 10.6 percent hit.
Narayanganj, on the other hand, suffered losses of 20.9 percent.
To meet the country’s gas demand, the interim government imports at least 25 percent of its supply as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The price of imported LNG fluctuates between $13 and $40 per unit, with Petrobangla estimating the cost at Tk 65 per cubic metre.
The igovernment sells gas to eight consumer categories, with industrial users paying Tk 30 per cubic metre and power plants Tk 14.
If we calculate at 14 taka per unit, the daily loss from system loss and gas theft amounts to nearly Tk 2 billion, with most of it being drained through gas theft.
While many consider the frequent misconduct by officials in the gas sector, disguised as system losses, to be theft, former BERC member Maqbul-E-Elahi Chowdhury prefers to label it as “robbery”.
He told bdnews24.com, "If 2 or 3 percent of gas is lost, it can be called system loss or theft. But when up to 40 percent of gas is being siphoned off, I can't call it anything less than robbery.
“Even calling it robbery would be an understatement."
Md Shamsul Alam, energy advisor to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), highlighted the lack of legitimacy for such practices disguised as system losses.
“We oppose even the 2 percent system loss claim," he told bdnews24.com.
He added that excess gas remains due to factors like low gas pressure in other distribution companies and low residential consumption.
Titas serves 2.8 million residential customers, with around 400,000 prepaid meter users.
Initially, 82 cubic feet of gas was allocated to residential customers, which was later reduced to 72 and then 60 cubic feet.
Maqbul pointed out that in households with prepaid meters, it’s evident that customers can consume a maximum of 40 to 50 cubic feet of gas.
“The extra allocation for the 2.4 million residential customers is being diverted through illegal connections by Titas officials,” he said.
Due to the difference between the production, import, and supply prices of natural gas and its selling price, the government had to subsidise the sector with Tk 65.7 billion for the fiscal year 2023-24, according to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
Titas Gas data shows that from September last year to Feb 26 of this year, a drive against illegal gas connections led to the severing of 27,612 connections, including 210 industrial, 125 commercial, and 27,277 residential connections.
In addition, 138km of pipeline were removed during these operations.
The system loss caused by theft is clearly reflected in the accounts of the last two financial years and the figures for December and January.
In FY 2022-23, Titas recorded a system loss of 5.28 percent. The following year, it increased to 7.67 percent, and in December and January, it showed nearly 10 percent system loss.
Maqbul said system loss is being caused by illegal connections made in collusion with Titas officials.
The increase in system loss indicates a rise in theft and robbery.
Recently, during a public hearing, Titas presented data showing a 13.13 percent system loss.
In response, CAB Advisor Shamsul said: "The term 'system loss' is merely a misuse of language in these cases. We call these thefts a form of plunder.
“Titas cannot shift the blame for waste and theft onto the consumers."
The official called for an organised movement to address this issue.
"No rights have ever been established without a movement," he said.
RECENT CRACKDOWNS ON GAS THEFT
In January, a Titas Gas operation in Gazipur’s Kashimpur dismantled an illegal gas distribution network spanning nearly 2km, severed 450 unauthorised residential gas burner connections, and removed 500 metres of pipeline.
As all the houses were locked during the raid, no penalties could be imposed on those responsible.
On Mar 9, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) took the initiative to cut off illegal gas connections at two restaurants in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi.
The national anti-graft agency had received a complaint alleging that some Titas officials were involved in colluding to install these lines.
That day, ACC officials first visited the Titas office to collect records of legal gas connections in the area.
They then accompanied Titas representatives to the raid, where unauthorised connections were discovered at Rosona Bilash Hotel & Restaurant and Green Bangla Hotel & Restaurant.
ACC Deputy Director Md Akhtarul Islam told the media that these restaurants had been siphoning gas dangerously from the Titas pipeline, causing the state-owned company a monthly loss of around Tk 500,000.
Under the Bangladesh Gas Act 2010, offences such as unauthorised connections and tampering with meters carry fines and imprisonment.
The minimum penalty varies by consumer category but can include a fine of up to Tk 10,000 or a three-month jail term, or both.
Repeat offenders face double the penalty, while the maximum punishment can extend to two years in prison or a Tk 200,000 fine, or both.
For repeated violations, the sentence can rise to five years of imprisonment and a Tk 500,000 fine.
Despite ongoing crackdowns, system losses at Titas continue to rise.
In response to questions about this trend, The Titas managing director claimed the situation had been worse before, reaching 13 percent in October.
He said system losses had been gradually declining since November-December and were expected to drop to 9 percent in February.
When asked about unauthorised connections facilitated by insiders, Shahnewaz said: “These cannot be stopped. As soon as we disconnect them in one place, they are reinstalled elsewhere.
“Influential people are behind this—it is common knowledge.”
On the issue of system losses, the managing director said: “Many of Titas’s pipelines are old and prone to leakage.
“We estimate at least 3 percent of the loss is due to leaks while the remaining 3 percent could be due to theft.”
When questioned about the lack of severe punishment for offenders, Shahnewaz said magistrates decide on sentencing, and the extent of penalties lies in the hands of judges.
Attempts to reach Energy Advisor Md Fouzul Kabir Khan for comments on the government's measures to curb gas theft were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls.
When asked about the failure to curb gas theft, CAB Advisor Shamsul criticised the practice of letting offenders off with light sentences.
“This shows that even though the previous government is no longer in power, the state itself remains subjugated to networks of thieves and criminals,” he said.
[Writing in English by Syed Mahmud Onindo and Sheikh Fariha Bristy]
