Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, a state-owned gas agency, will start providing physical connections to households within the next 10-15 days.Titas Gas, responsible for gas transmission and distribution business in the capital and adjoining areas, has already started disposing of pending applications seeking gas connections.
“We’ve already started dealing with the pending applications. Those who have already received demand notes against their payments will get the first priority,” acting managing director of Titas Gas Nowshad Islam, told UNB Saturday.
He said some 15,000-plus demand notes were issued for about 40,000 burners by the Titas Gas authorities before suspension of new gas connections.
Besides, there are 57,000 unauthorised gas burners being used in Titas Gas areas. Such consumers have no legal basis, but they have been making their payments to Titas Gas bank account.
Nowshad said these illegal consumers have been asked to legalise their connections by May 30 through a prescribed process.
He also said that his company has also started receiving fresh applications from consumers for new connections who live within the gas distribution network.
Nowshad believes that the numbers of all types of new household connections would be around 100,000. “We’ll gradually provide gas connections to these new consumers to avert extra pressure on the gas distribution system.”
After nearly three years of suspension, the government announced its decision on May 7 to provide new gas connections to household consumers.
The Energy Ministry made the decision following the Prime Minister’s nod to a proposal for starting new gas connections to household consumers.
New gas connections to industries remained suspended since July 2009 following a government embargo. Later, another order was issued by the government in July 2010 to halt all kinds of new gas connection, including the household ones.
But the High Court recently issued a modified order clearing the path for providing gas connections to different consumers considering public interest.
Recently, the Energy Ministry formed a monitoring committee to oversee the new gas connections to household consumers.
The new connections will be provided up to 15 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) consumed.
Energy Ministry officials believe that real-estate business will be mostly benefited with the new decision as thousands of new apartments remained unsold for lack of gas connections in Dhaka, Chittagong and other major cities. UNB
