Thievery galore: A quarter of nation’s gas resources looted every day

Unregistered consumers steal gas, people don’t pay bills in areas hit by law and order problems.

ISLAMABAD:

The country loses an average 27% of gas every day on account of pilferage and theft by people who lack access to the resource and in areas hit by law and order problems, say documents.

Gas companies attribute the loss to expansion of the distribution network on political grounds to please the voters. They say in areas affected by law and order issues, consumers do not pay bills, but the companies must continue gas supply in view of socio-political considerations.

According to documents submitted in the cabinet last month, total gas production in the country is four billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), of which gas utilities – Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) – supply 2.9 bcfd through their extensive distribution network covering 140,000 km to serve 6.3 million consumers.

The companies stress they are making efforts to reduce the level of unaccounted-for-gas (UFG) – a term used to describe gas theft and wastage – but their efforts to detect pilferage by unregistered consumers, gas theft in areas affected by law and order problems and limitations of domestic gas meters have not been recognised. This has resulted in their inability to carry out major future development works or effectively maintain the present system.

In financial year 2011-12, the volume of gas pilferage by unregistered consumers was 11.17 and 2.06 billion cubic feet in the networks of SNGPL and SSGC respectively. People in areas hit by law and order situation consumed 7.54 and 3.98 billion cubic feet of gas.

In the documents, the companies say the trend of gas theft by those lacking access is continuously increasing due to restrictions on new gas connections, rapidly growing distribution network due to government’s socio-political agenda and existing gap between demand and supply.

They insist they are making substantial efforts to control the problem, reflected in their surveillance, detection and disconnection efforts. “So far, the companies have identified and disconnected hundreds of illegal networks supplying gas to thousands of non-consumers through direct tapping of main lines, extension through rubber pipes and other unconventional methods,” say the documents.

They say they have confronted certain areas where law and order situation is such that it is practically impossible to carry out normal operations. However, they must continue gas supply to these areas in view of socio-political considerations.

“Meter reading in such areas is not possible rather in most of the cases the consumers have removed their meters.” The cabinet has allowed the gas volume consumed in such areas and also by unregistered consumers to be considered in calculation of UFG losses, which are borne by registered consumers.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2012.