State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, revealed a significant achievement in the gas distribution sector, stating that system loss has been reduced to 7.5%, down from a staggering 22% two years ago. He made this announcement during a visit to the headquarters of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited in the city on Thursday.

Hamid expressed the government's commitment to further lowering system loss to zero within the next two years, outlining recent initiatives undertaken by the Titas Gas Company to achieve this goal.

Titas Gas, with approximately 2.8 million retail consumers out of a total of 4.8 million nationwide, has been a key player in the gas distribution segment.

The state minister highlighted the crackdown on illegal gas connections, reporting that 865,000 such connections have been disconnected in the last two years. Among these were 336 industrial connections, 475 commercial connections, 97 captive power plants, and 13 CNG stations. Additionally, 989 kilometers of illegal pipelines were removed, and fines totaling Tk604 crore were imposed on illegal consumers.

Hamid emphasized the government's zero-tolerance policy towards illegal connections, despite facing obstacles from influential quarters, including local lawmakers and public representatives.

He underscored the strong directive from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to remain uncompromising in tackling this issue.

Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker and Titas Managing Director Engr Md Haronur Rashid Mullah were present during the briefing.

Hamid also mentioned Titas Gas Company's plans to implement a Tk12,000 crore project in Dhaka and Narayanganj cities to replace old pipelines and prevent gas leakages. Additionally, discussions are underway with donor agencies such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and JBIC of Japan to install pre-paid gas meters, aiming to further reduce system loss in gas consumption.

Zanendra Nath emphasized the installation of meters by all distribution and transmission companies to ensure accountability in gas trading among them.