Titas clarifies domestic users' gas price hike issue

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (Titas Gas) has issued a statement in response to recent media reports on its move to fix the gas prices for non-metered domestic consumers.

Media reports said that Titas Gas submitted a proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to increase the monthly gas bill by 47% to Tk512 claiming that non-metered household users are burning 39% to 47% additional gas than the volume fixed for each of them.

In the statement issued on Tuesday evening, Titas Gas said it requested the BERC to reconsider the amount of gas used by non-metered consumers but not for hiking prices.

"But analysing our letter to the BERC, some media outlets published news that claimed that Titas Gas T&D Company Limited proposed to increase the gas price. Such news is tarnishing the image of the company which is not expected," the statement reads.

Titas Gas said, as per the BERC's tariff order 2019, monthly gas usage volume against non-metered single burner and double burners were set at 73.41cubic meter and 77.38 cubic meter respectively. In the June 2022's tariff order, however, the BERC refixed the volume at 55 cubic meters for single burners and 60 cubic meters for double burners.

"In reality, the volume of gas used in this category is higher than the volume set by the regulatory commission which increases the Titas Gas system loss. Therefore, it requested the regulator to re-consider the usage of gas volume for the non-metered consumers but not for price hike," it added.  

However, in the letter to the BERC, Titas Gas presented that since 2003 to 2019, non-metered household gas users' monthly gas bill was determined by multiplication of per unit price and the total volume of gas set by the regulator.

Titas Gas requested the regulator to reconsider the non-metered household gas volume as per the previous tariff order of June 2022. This is in reference to the monthly bill that would be generated as per the proposed volume of gas use which is 47% higher than the current monthly bills.