Fresh revision: CNG prices raised by up to Rs5.36 per kg
Move aimed at discouraging the use of CNG in vehicles.
ISLAMABAD:
The government announced on Tuesday that it will raise compressed natural gas (CNG) prices by up to Rs5.36 per kilogramme (kg) in a bid to discourage its use in vehicles. A notification was issued to this effect by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra ) on Tuesday.
According to the notification effective from July 1, the price of CNG has been increased from Rs74.25 per kg to Rs76.35 per kg, registering an increase of Rs2.1 per kg in Region 1 – including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Potohar.
Similarly, consumers in Region 2 (including Sindh and Punjab) – after an increase of Rs5.36 per kg – will be paying Rs71.5 instead of Rs66.14 for per kg of the CNG.
Ogra has approved this hike on the basis of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC).
Earlier, the GIDC rate was Rs263 per million British thermal unit (mmbtu) in Region-1 and Rs200 per mmbtu in Region-2. Now, the government has imposed a uniform rate of Rs300 per mmbtu in both regions, causing a hike in CNG prices.
Excessive load-shedding has crippled the country’s CNG industry. CNG stations in Punjab get gas supplies just once a week whereas industry and power plants receive gas eight hours a day, which is inefficient.
The CNG industry has rejected the proposed hike on the grounds that CNG stations do not have enough gas and therefore the increase in gas prices has no justification.
The head of the All Pakistan CNG Association Supreme Council, Ghyas Paracha, said the CNG industry was also suffering due to load-shedding of gas and the hike in prices would add to the miseries of the CNG industry.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2014.
The government announced on Tuesday that it will raise compressed natural gas (CNG) prices by up to Rs5.36 per kilogramme (kg) in a bid to discourage its use in vehicles. A notification was issued to this effect by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra ) on Tuesday.
According to the notification effective from July 1, the price of CNG has been increased from Rs74.25 per kg to Rs76.35 per kg, registering an increase of Rs2.1 per kg in Region 1 – including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Potohar.
Similarly, consumers in Region 2 (including Sindh and Punjab) – after an increase of Rs5.36 per kg – will be paying Rs71.5 instead of Rs66.14 for per kg of the CNG.
Ogra has approved this hike on the basis of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC).
Earlier, the GIDC rate was Rs263 per million British thermal unit (mmbtu) in Region-1 and Rs200 per mmbtu in Region-2. Now, the government has imposed a uniform rate of Rs300 per mmbtu in both regions, causing a hike in CNG prices.
Excessive load-shedding has crippled the country’s CNG industry. CNG stations in Punjab get gas supplies just once a week whereas industry and power plants receive gas eight hours a day, which is inefficient.
The CNG industry has rejected the proposed hike on the grounds that CNG stations do not have enough gas and therefore the increase in gas prices has no justification.
The head of the All Pakistan CNG Association Supreme Council, Ghyas Paracha, said the CNG industry was also suffering due to load-shedding of gas and the hike in prices would add to the miseries of the CNG industry.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2014.