Gas supply to CNG, non-export sectors ‘restored’
Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar. PHOTO: TWITTER/@Hammad_Azhar
Energy Minister Hammad Azhar on Tuesday said gas supply to CNG stations and the non-export industrial sector, operating on the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company Limited (SNGPL) network, had been restored.
The commodity’s supply to CNG and some non-export industrial sectors had been curtailed two days ago by the SNGPL to meet the increasing power needs of the country, he wrote in a tweet.
The SNGPL had announced the suspension of supply to all CNG stations and general industries of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces to manage the gas load on its system.
In a letter dated July 17, the SNGPL said in line with the directions of the energy ministry and in order to manage gas load on its system, it had been decided to suspend supply to all CNG and general industries until the situation improved.
Irked by the decision, Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, a senior leader of the All Pakistan CNG Association said it was unacceptable to his sector, which was already struggling due to the government’s policies.
He claimed that gas supply to the CNG and general industries had been suspended because there was a shortage of around 300 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) and only a small quantity of furnace oil available to meet the power sector’s demands.
Paracha further said that neither the government itself arranged adequate quantities of gas to meet the energy need, nor did it allow the private sector to bring gas to the country.
He said the UGDC, a private company, had been striving hard for the last 10 years to import gas.
However, this company has not gained anything even though it has obtained necessary licences and no objection certificates.
Hammad had tweeted on Sunday said that some local gas, 3.75% of the total, was being diverted to the power sector to meet its peak demands due to a lightning strike on China Hub power plant and low outflows from Mangla Dam.
“This is a temporary arrangement for a few days,” he added.(With input from APP)