The Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited has decided to increase the monthly charge of prepaid meters to Tk200 from January to adjust the cost of running and maintenance.
Previously, the company used to charge customers Tk100 for each meter.
In a notification on Monday, Titas said: "Titas Gas has recently fixed the prepaid meter fare to Tk200, and the decision has created some confusion among the valued customers. As the life of each prepaid meter is 10 years, its cost, including its installation, web system, and server maintenance charges is more or less Tk25,000."
Titas further stated that due to the necessity of purchasing all meters through loans, the service is now being adjusted by implementing monthly charges, offering consumer convenience, rather than requiring consumers to pay the total meter cost upfront.
The government has already fixed the price of residential gas at Tk18 per cubic meter for the convenience of the consumers. But in 2023, the combined price of domestically produced gas and imported LNG was much higher than Tk18 per cubic meter on average, the notification added.
Titas also mentioned that the government has to give a subsidy against every cubic meter of gas in the residential sector and the increase in gas price is irrelevant.