Gas crisis: long queue in filling stations as supplies fall short

The shortfall in national transmission line has disrupted gas supplies around the country, leaving drivers to complain over less-than-half-filled tanks even after waiting in long tailbacks for refills.

Long queues of vehicles have been seen waiting outside compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations in different areas of the capital, including Moghbazar, Mohakhali, and Rampura for the past month.

Filling station authorities say that supplying even half of the gas demanded has not been possible though the compressor was active, leading to financial losses.

As the demand for electricity rose in summer, the interim government had to boost the supply of gas to power plants, resulting in a drop in the allocation to commercial and industrial customers, Petrobangla said.

CNG-powered autorickshaws and private cars are taking the biggest hit as, even after long waits, they have to leave the filling station with their cylinders half empty. Again, the low supply is forcing drivers to stand in lines multiple times a day to get their vehicles refilled with gas.

Autorickshaw driver Ruhul Amin told bdnews24.com, "Currently, there is an extreme gas crisis. We have to come to the filling station [and are in] a serial for hours. This is wasting a lot of our time. My car can carry gas worth Tk 300. But the filling stations are offering gas worth only Tk 100-120. I am in a lot of trouble.

"I drive a CNG-powered autorickshaw on a half-day contract. It takes two-two and a half hours to get gas. I can drive for four to five hours on Tk 120. However, if I could load it up at a time, I could have driven for the whole day.”

CNG-powered autorickshaw driver Mohammad Abdur Rab Mia said, “I drive in the afternoon. If I am required to buy gas twice or thrice, when am I supposed to do passenger trips? There is no profit now. The crisis has become more severe since Eid.”

A worker at the Rampura Hajipara CNG filling station said, “The vehicle tailback is stretching half a kilometre. Even then, many vehicles are retreating. There is nothing to do now. There is less gas in the (transmission) line. We are drawing as much as we can with machines.”

Sajal Mridha, an engineer at this filling station, said that the gas inlet, which is supposed to be 70-80, remains at 20-25 during the day. It remains 70-80 at night for a long time. It remains 70-80 day and night on Fridays as well.

Noting that both the customers and the company are suffering losses due to the gas crisis, the engineer said: "Those who were supposed to get gas worth Tk 300 are getting Tk 60 instead of Tk 100. Our workload is rising. Sales are also decreasing as is the gas pressure. The sales used to be around Tk 30 million, but now it slumped to getting Tk 1.5 million.”

A Petrobangla official said that the government has increased gas supply to power plants due to the increased demand for electricity during summer. As a result, gas supply to industrial and commercial connections like CNG-filling stations is decreasing.

Noting that the interim government’s tenure as “short-term”, Power Advisor Faozul Kabir Khan said it was not possible for such a government to solve these long-standing crises.

“Because even if two gas fields are discovered today, it will take at least two years to draw gas from them. These are long-term processes. We are trying to direct our efforts where it is needed most.”

According to Petrobangla’s Apr 27 report, the daily gas supply in the country has come down to 2,700 million cubic feet. While the daily gas demand is 3,700 to 4,000 million cubic feet.