ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to prepare a roadmap to steer the country out of the worsening gas crisis.
Addressing a seminar on Natural Gas Supply in Islamabad, the prime minister pointed out that the indigenous gas reserves are depleting and the country is now importing gas.
The prime minister said there is a huge difference in the price of domestic and imported gas, resulting in increasing circular debt in the gas sector. He said they had hoped to discover offshore gas reserves near Karachi but were not successful.
He said that 27 percent of households have access to piped gas, whilst the remaining rely on LPG cylinders which are four times more expensive than the pipeline gas. He said subsidy on gas should facilitate the poor.
PM Imran Khan regretted the lack of longterm planning in the past to cope with the energy crisis. He said no effort was made to exploit the hydro potential of the country to produce cheap electricity.
The prime minister thanked Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for renegotiating the contracts with the government. He said the nation will be apprised next week about the savings from the renewal of contracts that will help reduce burden on the people.
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