State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has revealed plans to introduce prepaid metering for all gas consumers across Bangladesh as part of the government's efforts to ensure efficient energy use.

The government has taken various initiatives to fully transition to prepaid metering within the next four years, he said on Saturday.

Hamid, who is currently in Sylhet, inaugurated a data centre for the state-run Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, which has equipped 50,000 customers with prepaid meters in the region.

The data centre will monitor customer gas usage and identify any excessive use.

Hamid also launched the 'Bangabandhu Corner' at the company's headquarters.

The contract for installing these 50,000 gas meters was signed in September 2022, and the state minister lauded Jalalabad Gas for completing the project in such quick time with its own funds.

Hamid also revealed plans to extend the service to an additional 150,000 customers soon in Sylhet.

"Prepaid meters will help reduce gas wastage and allow consumers to get gas at affordable prices."

Jalalabad Gas serves a total of 221,461 customers, including 219,764 residential ones.

The initiative to provide 50,000 customers with prepaid meters was launched on Jan 1, 2021, with the contract for the project being signed on Sept 25, 2022. Meter installations at the customer level started on Apr 26, 2023, with the project's total cost estimated at Tk 1.36 billion.