CNG stations struggling amid gas crisis
Staff Correspondent
Owners of compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations have claimed that the number of users of the fuel is decreasing due to a supply crisis.
“A company sold 96,093 cubic metres of gas in March 2015 which dropped to only 66,718 cubic metres in 2024. Besides, the electricity bill hiked to Tk5.4 per unit. How can we survive in this situation?” Farhan Noor Bhuiyan, general secretary at Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association, said at a view-exchange meeting on Sunday.
Organisation President Manoranjan Bhakta and Vice-President Abdullah Al Mamun were also present on the occasion.
The trade body leaders have also proposed to provide for automatic adjustment in case of further increase in electricity prices.
“Several CNG filling stations have already been closed due to gas shortages. The once attractive CNG filling station is now struggling to survive. It is barely breaking even, sometimes making losses,” Bhuiyan added.
There are 525 filling stations in operation across the country. Recently, CNG station owners have applied to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) and the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources to increase the margin from the previous Tk8 to Tk13.10.
