Pre-paid domestic gas metering system in Bangladesh: a case study of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited

Abstract

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (TGDTCL) is the largest gas transmission and distribution Company of Bangladesh. The organization established in 1964 and started its commercial operation on 1978 by providing domestic gas connections in Dhaka city. There are different types of customers and tariff rates for natural gas in Bangladesh. All types except the un-metered Domestic customers are billed on meters. Unmetered domestic customers are billed at flat rates. They pay a fixed amount, whatever may be their actual gas consumption. As they need not pay for every unit of gas they use, they utilize gas for drying clothes, keeping room warm in winter and saving the expenses of match sticks. For this reason, most of these domestic customers use this non-renewable fossil fuel inefficiently and they do not use efficient gas appliances to reduce the wastage of gas. This group of customers consumes about 13% of the total gas. Thus, there is a scope for wasting a significant amount of gas. Pre-paid metering may reduce such wastage and also eliminate the problem of unpaid dues. Titas Gas Transmission & Distribution Company Ltd. (TGTDCL) undertook a pilot project in July 2005 to implement pre-paid metering on a limited scale. The outcomes of the pilot project are analyzed and presented in this paper. It is found that most of the customers under the project appear to be indifferent to the new system. The revenue of TGTDCL was less compared to the same number of un-metered customers. The pilot project was not designed adequately. Calculations are therefore made with assumed parameters. Clear and conclusive results regarding reduction of gas wastage and financial benefits cannot be obtained. More carefully designed pilot projects must be conducted before deployment of metering in a large scale.