LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court on Tuesday questioned the role of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in implementing gas loadshedding by issuing notification which ignored the laws of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah questioned the decisions of the ECC when Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) counsel told the court that CNG loadshedding in all provinces was being done on the directions of the ECC. However, he said, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa was exempt from this load shedding under Article 158 of the Constitution.
He said that gas loadshedding was also being carried out in other sectors. The fertiliser sector was provided gas for eight months in a year and gas supply to 10 out of the 15 independent power producers (IPP) had been suspended, the counsel said, adding that the cement sector was also facing gas load shedding.
On the judge’s query, Ogra’s counsel said the authority had no role in implementing any policy. Justice Shah expressed concern over the counsel’s ignorance and said, “You may not be aware of Ogra laws. If your version is believed, the whole system will collapse.”
The judge summoned members of Ogra (today) along with the load shedding schedule.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ