OGRA to no longer set LPG price

New company to set rates under govt crackdown on illegal sales

LAHORE:

The government has decided to transfer the authority to determine liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to a new company comprising Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Sui gas companies and other oil firms, as part of efforts to curb the LPG mafia and provide consumers with gas at affordable official rates.

Under the proposed arrangement, LPG will be sold only through authorised outlets and pumps operating under prescribed regulations, while action has already begun against those involved in illegal sales. The new company will also be responsible for setting the official LPG price for the coming month.

According to the Petroleum Ministry, all distributors and retailers will be bound to sell LPG at the officially notified rate. Those found charging arbitrary prices will face immediate action, with the government seeking to end widespread overcharging in the market.

The government has also planned a cylinder exchange system to minimise accidents involving gas cylinder explosions. Under the arrangement, consumers will hand over their empty cylinders to retailers and receive filled ones in return, rather than having their existing cylinders refilled at shops.

LPG will be supplied only in standard cylinders manufactured by Ogra-approved companies, ranging from two and three kilogrammes to five kilogrammes. The government will work with companies to introduce affordable, quality cylinders in the market.

The use of substandard or defective cylinders will not be permitted. Any retailer found filling LPG into an unapproved cylinder will face action, including the sealing of their shop and heavy fines.

Meanwhile, LPG Distributors Association Secretary General RanaAbdul Jabbar told The Express Tribune that the association was ready to cooperate with the government, provided it supplied standard cylinders to retailers at subsidised rates.

"We are ready to extend every possible cooperation and are also opposed to the illegal sale of LPG," he said, adding that the association would implement all government measures aimed at preventing accidents.

Jabbar said retailers did not want anyone to lose their life, adding that shopkeepers themselves faced considerable risks while handling LPG. He said the association had already instructed its members not to fill defective cylinders.

"If any retailer is found doing so, action should be taken against them. We will not support any such retailer," he said. He, however, urged the authorities to return the pumps and other equipment seized from retailers during enforcement operations instead of destroying them.