SSGC directed not to reduce gas supply to KESC

KESC takes gas supplier to court over plans to decrease gas supply for 22 days.

KARACHI:

Sui Southern Gas Company has been directed by the Sindh High Court on Friday to not decrease gas supply to Karachi Electric Supply Corporation until April 19, date of the next hearing.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued a notice to SSGC on Friday, on KESC’s petition to not reduce gas supply to the electric provider during the annual maintenance of Bhit gas field.

The legal issue is likely to create problems for SSGC, which has already announced its gas management plans for major customers, including KESC from April 12 to May 4.

The court passed a ruling asking SSGC not to reduce gas supply to KESC until April 19, date of the next hearing.

SSGC official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune, “It will be impossible for SSGC to provide regular gas supply to KESC during the maintenance period.”

“SSGC officials will be meeting the Sindh chief minister early next week to inform him about our problems,” said an official. He further said that the firm itself would be facing acute gas shortage during the period, and therefore questioned its own ability to supply gas to customers.

SSGC is not obliged to supply 200mmcfd per day gas to KESC, but supplied it keeping in mind the problems of power consumers in the city, the official said. In their defence, KESC officials called for sufficient gas supply, saying it was extremely expensive generating power through furnace oil.

The respondent (SSGC) has been restrained to cut gas supply of the petitioner (KESC) from the present 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from April 6, 2011 for a week until the next hearing, said a statement issued by the KESC. SSGC had announced to cut gas supply to KESC from present 200 mmcfd to 100 mmcfd for 22 days during maintenance of the Bhit field, one of the largest gas fields of the gas distributor.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th,  2011.