Gas utility courts

Non-recovery of utility bills has been a perennial problem — one that has failed literally every government thus far. While electricity theft over the years has caused an accumulated shortfall of Rs2.46 trillion between the billed and the recovered amount, the theft of gas has also started growing of late — having nearly doubled in the past three years, from Rs350 billion in 2018 to Rs650 billion as of now. And it is mainly the honest consumers who have to bear the brunt of the non-recovery of dues. It’s because in order to make up for the loss, public utilities recover a major chunk of the cost from the consumers who pay their bills regularly.

A report in this newspaper says that both Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) have been struggling to control gas theft. Some localities of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a province that falls within the SNGPL jurisdiction, pose a serious problem in the context. These localities are involved in gas theft in high volumes; and the gas utility is helpless, even unable to win support of the provincial government to take any action. The situation in areas under SSGC control is no different: parts of Balochistan are involved in heavy theft, accounting for 40% of the overall pilferage.

Thus in an attempt to control the rampant gas theft, the federal government has planned to set up gas utility courts by amending a relevant law and delegating powers to Prime Minister for taking action against gas thieves. Currently, hundreds of gas theft cases are pending in courts across the country. It is expected that the proposed law will help expedite legal proceedings in cases involving gas theft and late recovery of bills.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2022.

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