Winter has become colder for Pakistanis as people are not able to use heaters or stoves because of gas load shedding. The government failed to fulfill its promise as the petroleum minister announced that there will be none this winters. People in Islamabad and Rawalpindi complained of a shortage of gas, especially in areas such as Shamsabad and Sadiqabad. “We can’t even cook as there is no gas. What can we do?” remarked a resident of Rawalpindi. There has been a shortage of gas in Karachi for the last four to five days too. Two gas fields of SSGC—Tando Jam and Gambat gas field—have been suffering from a gas shortage. The factories and industries are feeling the pressure too. Workers come to factories but cannot do anything as there is no gas. SITE Association President Saleem Parekh remarked that the situation of gas is quite bad. “It seems like a conspiracy of SSGC and bureaucracy to hamper our exports.” He remarked that exporters will pay the heavy cost of lack of production. On Monday, the Sui Southern Gas Company asked for a 14% increase in the price of gas. The company asked the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority to increase the price by Rs84, taking it to Rs671 per MMBtu. On November 27, the Economic Coordination Committee approved the decision to not disturb the supply of gas in winters. Petroleum secretary said that gas will be in limited supply in December, January, and February. It was decided that the supply of re-gasified liquefied natural gas will be increased to overcome the shortage. Moreover, LNG will also be imported.
Alina Bux
Karachi
