Gas prices may rise as SNGC requests Rs 64 per MMBTU hike from Ogra

Sui Northern Gas Company has submitted a request to Overseas Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) for an increase of Rs 64 per MMBTU in gas prices.

According to the request, Sui Northern is facing a shortfall of 20 billion 58 crore 20 lakh rupees during the current financial year, which includes 48 crore 90 lakh rupees allocated for the LPG AirMix project.

Furthermore, Sui Northern will have to pay what is it rupees for the transfer of Reversed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for domestic consumers.

These prices are linked to High-Speed Fuel Oil (HSFO) and crude oil rates.

The company has also requested to raise the supply cost of LNG for all categories of consumers to Rs. 1711.73 per MMBTU starting from July 1, 2024.

As a result of this request, an increase in gas prices for domestic consumers is expected.

Previously, Sindh High Court upheld an interim order to prevent the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) from taking illegal actions against consumers regarding increases in gas bills and meter charges.

A two-member bench led by Chief Justice Muhammad Shafiq Siddiqui heard the petition against the rise in gas bills and the collection of meter charges.

Advocate Tariq Mansoor argued that the SSGC had altered gas bills and attempted to categorize consumers into different slabs, dividing them into protected and non-protected categories.

He contended that the SSGC had illegally fixed a meter rent at Rs460, which is to be charged for the winter months and applied to other months of the year.

Charging each consumer an additional Rs460 is unjust, as over Rs11 billion have been collected from Karachi alone.