SNGPL General Manager says that efforts are being made to reduce gas theft. PHOTO: FILE
General Manager Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) Arbab Saqib said on Wednesday that efforts will be made to reduce instances of gas theft, which cost the exchequer Rs750 million a month, Radio Pakistan reported.
Addressing press officials in Peshawar, he said that 65 FIRs have been successfully registered against people who were caught stealing gas.
"Illegal gas connections have costed the company Rs2.5 billion within a year," Saqib explained.
Rs750 million of revenue is lost to gas theft every month, he added.
Earlier this week, SNGPL cut off gas supply to four industrial and five commercial units for their failure to clear unpaid bills amounting to Rs37.6 million.
SNGPL is a gas distributing company that covers Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
COMMENTS (5)
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@Nitin: All it needs is a plumber to get you an illegal connection.
How you guys can steal GAS..... seems you have developed some really high end technologies...
The linemen of Wapda and employees of Sui Northern are themselves responsible for this theft. Last week one lineman came and he told me that if i would give him Rs 5000 Per month then before the start of every month he will reverse my meter readings and he told me that hundreds of people do this with the help of his services. Similarly my friend is in Sui Northern and he was telling me that Sui employees pay hunderds of thousands of Bribes to be deputed in Industrial zones so that they will get huge bribes from Industrialists and then in return they will steal and make illegal connections for them.
The main deterrent to utility theft isn't FIR's - it's cutting off the thief from the utility hookup, follow up to insure he stays disconnected, and placing him/her on blacklist that makes sure he never gets utilities until he pays up what is owed along with a substantial penalty. The rest of the World controls utility theft - no reason why Pakistan can't.
When people within the country steals electricity and gas, the country has no chance of coming out of its financial difficulties. Only when corruption at all levels is stopped, then the process of recovery will take place.