Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd yesterday decided to recommend the government to keep CNG filling stations in Dhaka and Narayanganj closed for two days a week during winter, which would help reduce the gas crisis.
Faced with acute gas crisis in the capital and its adjacent districts, which is triggering discontent among people, Titas at a high-level meeting yesterday made a number of decisions that include replacing old and narrow gas pipelines and snapping illegal connections at a certain area.
Closing CNG filling stations two days a week would save 40 million cubic feet of gas a day and provide relief to general consumers, said a top official of the country’s biggest and oldest gas company.
Besides, Titas would reduce gas supply to Siddhirganj power plant to save eight million cubic feet of gas a day. As per contract between Titas and the power plant, the plant was supposed to receive 25 million cubic feet of gas a day but it actually gets 33 million cubic feet a day. This additional gas can be diverted to Narayanganj.
Titas would also stop gas supply to the gas-fired NEPC Barge-mounted power plant and divert that gas to general consumers. This plant was supposed to be installed with a dual-fuel system last year so that it can operate on petroleum as well as natural gas.
Titas will reduce gas supply to the Ghorashal Fertiliser Factory too and divert that gas to Dhaka.
The area under Titas’s network has a demand of 1,650 million cubic feet of gas a day but it provides only 1,440 million cubic feet a day. The country’s total gas consumption presently is around 2,000 million cubic feet a day.
The country faces additional gas shortage during winter as gas transmission pipelines become narrow with the accumulation of condensate (a liquid gas by-product) due to low temperature. But this year this crisis has become very acute triggering public outcry in different places.
A top Titas official said the company would launch a gas pipeline survey in areas where supply crisis has become acute.
At the meeting yesterday, Titas officials discussed the discontent among people in Munshiganj. To improve gas supply to Munshiganj, they decided to install a District Regulating Station there. A new gas pipeline will be installed to increase gas flow near the station at Mazdair.
Responding to the demand of Shyampur locals, Titas committed to replace all narrow gas pipelines in that area. At the same time it will snap all illegal and unpaid for gas connections in Shyampur. A large number of commercial enterprises illegally consume huge volume of gas in that area.
“This winter, consumption in the Titas area has jumped up by 40 million cubic feet of gas a day. This is because people use gas burners more, compared to summer time, for heating water and even for warming up their rooms,” said the high official, adding, “We need to make people aware of the best use of gas and how to not waste.”
The company would also request the government to take initiatives to make available Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) containers in parts of the city where gas crisis is acute. This would help people cook conveniently.
For the long run, Titas is planning to develop a gas storage facility in the city for emergency supply during the winter.
Similar gas-load management was introduced in Pakistan where gas crisis is even worse, sources said. Pakistan’s gas supply shortfall is almost 1,000 million cubic feet a day this month, says a report of Pakistani daily Don
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh News, Bangladesh Politics, Daily Bangladesh News, News, Politics
