Govt Impose Ban on New Gas Connection
Govt impose ban on new gas connection and introduced a new policy to ban domestic gas connections from local production. The Petroleum Division has ordered gas companies, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGP) to reject nearly three million pending applications for domestic gas. The goal is to ease the stress on fast-depleting domestic gas reserves.
Under a framework approved by the federal cabinet, new gas connections will only be issued using imported natural gas, which is estimated to cost consumers about 70% more than locally produced gas.
Gas policy highlights (حکومت نے نئے گیس کنکشن پر پابندی عائد کر دی)
- Govt impose ban on new gas connections and the Gas companies must provide imported gas connections to 50% of applicants within one year.
- Applicants who pay an urgent fee will receive a connection within three months.
- Any household whose connection has been inactive for more than one year will also be switched over to imported gas.
- The new 9 condition frame work is designed to reduce the pressure on Pakistani depleting domestic gas reserves
پٹرولیم ڈویژن نے ایک نیا فریم ورک جاری کرتے ہوئے گھریلو صارفین کے لیے نئے گیس کنکشن دینے پر پابندی لگا دی ہے اس سلسلے میں ڈویژن نے گیس کمپنیوں کو ہدایت کی ہے کہ وہ گھریلو صارفین کی جانب سے جمع کرائی گئی تقریباً تین ملین زیر التوا درخواستوں کو مسترد کر دیں۔
یہ فریم ورک، جو وفاقی کابینہ نے منظور کیا ہے، سوئی سدرن گیس کمپنی اور سوئی نادرن گیس پائپ لائنز کو بھیج دیا گیا ہے۔ اس کے تحت نئے کنکشن صرف درآمدی گیس سے دیے جائیں گے، جو مقامی گیس کے مقابلے میں تقریباً 70 فیصد زیادہ مہنگی ہوگی۔
Also Read About : OGRA Raise RLNG price by upto 2.6 % for September
Latest Notification by Government
According to the latest notification by SSGC, the cost of domestic gas under the “protected category” is Rupees. 200 per MMBtu for usage up to 0.25 hm³ per month. For the non-protected category the rates are much higher in some slabs up to Rupees. 1,900 per MMBtu or more And The fixed charges have also been increased: for example, for non-protected domestic consumers up to 1.5 hm³ fixed charge is now Rupees. 1,500 plus meter rent. Because imported gas is more costly (covering import, transport, regasification etc.), switching many new connections to it will mean significantly higher bills for many consumers.
Recent Decisions about Gas
Just a week ago the federal cabinet of Pakistan had lifted the ban on new gas connections (in place since 2021) after public demand. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik confirmed the approval of it . However under the new framework the new connections will now only be available through imported LNG at higher prices.
Conclusion
Govt impose ban on new gas connection and introduced a new policy to ban domestic gas connections from local production Petroleum Division has ordered gas companies, Sui Southern Gas Company and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines to reject nearly three million pending applications for domestic gas Pakistan natural gas production is declining rapidly and forcing the government to rely more on imported LNG. This shift will put additional pressure on households as their monthly bills rise.
